Behind the Mirror
by Rosage
Summary: After her human friends die, Yukina's life must continue. Returning to Demon World lets her puzzle out her estranged twin and his enigmatic coworker, but doing so while fighting enemies she's scarcely trained to combat proves complicated, especially for someone who may not belong in any of the worlds.
1. Their Procession

_A/N: This is based mainly on the anime dub, since I only have second-hand knowledge of the rest of canon. It's mostly gen, with some implied background Hiei/Mukuro—I wanted to develop Yukina as an individual and a friend/family member, and I hope I've accomplished that._

Genkai dies in her sleep. Yukina has just heated a kettle for tea and is waiting until she hears Genkai go through her morning routine to steep the leaves. The water cools before she can. Only the birds clustering on the windowsill make a peep. For once Yukina lets them in, knowing she won't receive lip from Genkai for inviting their mess; knowing she'll need the company to face what she's about to face; knowing, as she knew in her bones when she put on the kettle, that Genkai is gone.

Kurama arrives before Yukina can peel herself away from the bedside. The birds flee from the fox, whose hand replaces them on her shoulder. Gently he leads her back to the cold kettle, hinting that Botan needs space to work. For the second time that morning Yukina's heart breaks, this time for Botan, who's already done this once and of course wouldn't want a friend to see her do it again. It breaks a third time when Kurama hands Yukina a quivering cup.

By the time the others have assembled, Botan has come and gone. Yukina doesn't see her, but she feels the loss and hears Urameshi scream in the forest. Nobody speaks in the temple except Kazuma, who eventually lends his voice to Urameshi's, leaving the rest to listen to their tribute. Keiko's arms smother her sobs, Shizuru rubbing her back instead of crying herself. Yukina dares not even let her clothes rustle in the breeze coming through the open window.

As Genkai's heirs, the group proceeds with funeral preparations in lieu of relatives. The rites are as traditional as they can manage despite that, Yukina is told. Belatedly they take turns moistening Genkai's lips, then wash and dress her. Everyone wears black for the wake and funeral, a solemnity that Yukina understands but which crushes her most somehow. She came from a monochromatic world. Recently she's begun wearing pinks and browns and oranges, joining the collage of colors that make up her friends. Today they're indistinguishable, muddled into one shared pain.

Nobody sees—or at least nobody acknowledges—Hiei arrive, but it's his fire that cremates her, and the candles beside Kurama's white chrysanthemums and lilies are lit with black flames. They pass the bones around with chopsticks before packing them into an urn and burning incense. A grave is erected behind the temple. Koenma himself appears to assure them that Genkai is headed where she's meant to go.

As the days pass, the group thins out, returning to jobs or school or simply escaping the pile of stones in the yard. The Kuwabaras don't leave without Yukina, who silently follows them onto the train, watching the birds flit around the closed doors before disappearing from her view.

* * *

Shizuru offers her bed to Yukina. Instead Yukina sleeps on the couch, but she wakes to find the siblings have spread blankets on the floor, so the next night she takes the bed. The sheets she cocoons herself in smell of cigarettes. She remembers incense burnt with black flames and longs for the mountain air.

Over breakfast she tells the Kuwabaras that she's planning to return. They compare schedules to see who can take her to visit, and she shakes her head.

"I can go by myself. I'm living there, after all."

"You are?" Kazuma asks.

"Of course. That's its purpose now, after all."

"No, it's for demons to—" He swallows a bite of rice and egg along with his words. Yukina twists her hands in her lap, her food untouched. The cup Shizuru sets down clacks hard against the table, but her voice is velvet.

"I'll go with you this afternoon and make sure you have everything you need, okay?"

Gratefully Yukina nods. If they'd tried to argue, she wouldn't have had the energy.

* * *

As promised, they escort her to the temple, check the food and utilities, and visit Genkai's grave before Shizuru drags Kazuma away. "Call us if you need anything," she says. Yukina thanks her, watches them descend the steps, and then collapses. She ends up spending the night in the forest, breathing in the dirt and leaves.

She's prepared to be alone, or so she tells herself, but the group comes in rotations to burn incense and sit with Genkai. They always say hello to Yukina, who can't summon more than a few words in response, taking comfort in their energies outside as she sweeps the floors and prepares simple meals.

Soon after days begin to stretch between visits, Yukina sees the first demon. He's clinging to a tree branch on all fours, a tail longer than the rest of him curled around it. To her dismay a squirrel tail pokes out of his mouth, and when she calls out a greeting he unwinds himself from the branch and scuttles up into the canopy.

The next week, a silhouette of a hawk passes over the steps. It turns out not to be a hawk at all, but a demon gliding in circles to scope out the territory. Wary of the new predators, the animals gather around Yukina more than ever while she makes her rounds, aware of the demon watching her.

A week later Yukina goes down to the shore, remembering how joyously she and her friends played there after hearing Genkai's will, and sees scales shimmering silver under the water.

All of the demons are smaller than her, their energies faint enough to suggest they'd die in a fight in their home world. None of them will speak to her.

She doesn't push them. In the temple she performs Buddhist rituals Genkai adhered to, hoping that if she sets the example some of the demons will become curious enough to enter. The birds have begun to make nests inside, squirrels and rabbits hopping about the front room, and the demons stay away. A couple of times she thinks she feels Hiei's energy out among the trees, but she assumes it's wishful thinking.

* * *

Kazuma visits as often as a busy student can manage. He takes the steps up two at a time, but even his jokes feel forced. From within the temple he can sense every new demon hiding on the land, sometimes warning Yukina, sometimes letting them be. Each time he leaves he asks her if she really wants to stay, and each time she says yes. He trudges down the stairs.

One visit he's especially solemn. The angles of his face have changed since they first met, Yukina notices as she studies the lines there now. This time he doesn't ask her if she wants to stay, and she doesn't see him again for longer than he's gone without visiting. Perhaps he decided to focus on human friends after all, she thinks, even as she chides herself for her lack of faith in him.

When he appears again, she's so happy she almost hugs him. His seriousness makes her invite him politely inside instead. He asks her how she is, apologizes for being so busy, asks her how she is again. She says she's fine, it's fine, she's fine.

"I have to tell you some stuff," he says once they're kneeling across from each other at the table. She pours his tea and waits.

"You know, I never cared whether you were a demon or a human, but…" Kazuma sighs into his cup. "Kurama says ignoring our differences does you a disservice, or however he said it, and it makes me put my foot in my mouth. Anyway, both Shizuru and I want you to know you can stay with us anytime you want."

Yukina's shoulders drop from relief. For the first time in weeks, tears form in her eyes. She forces them back, not wanting him to see the gems hit the ground.

As far as she's concerned, that settles matters, but Kazuma looks green. Jerkily he rises, announcing that they're going down to the beach. The sky is pink over the water, and the water demon's scales catch the color before slipping away with a splash.

Yukina turns to Kazuma, meaning to comment on the sight, or maybe the memories this place invokes. He blurts out a question before she can.

"Will you grow old with me?"

"No, I won't," she says. He looks stricken; she thought he knew. "Demons live much longer than humans."

"Oh. Nah, I know that. That wasn't what I—I mean, it means—I'm asking you to marry me."

The water tickles her toe. She laughs, a sound harsh from lack of use. He throws up on her feet.

It takes several rounds of chasing and nursing before they sit down on the steps and talk about it. It's a halting conversation, full of starts and stops and rewinding. By the end they're not quite on the same page, but at least they realize that much.

"S-so, the point is, it's not me. You aren't interested in marryin' anyone, right?" he asks, his voice as squeaky as it's been since they sat. She nods. Among her people marriage was taboo, but she isn't bound to their laws. She simply can't wrap her head around that sort of love, not now, maybe not ever, and that's fine with her as long as she isn't alone. "I guess… I guess that's not so bad," he mumbles.

She touches his arm. "I'd love to live with you and Shizuru, though, if you'll still have me." The day has made her realize how little they know about each other, things he's willing to share whereas the demons around the temple still hide at her approach.

"Of course we will!" he says. He reaches for her hand the way he did when they first met, hesitant and twitching, and she squeezes before letting go.

* * *

The night Yukina moves in, she finds a mint green toothbrush on the bathroom counter beside the blue and yellow ones. The toothpaste's taste matches her brush's color, and it comforts her to think they'll all go to bed with the same breath. She doesn't dare mention how the brush's fibers catch in her fangs. In the morning Kazuma twists this way and that in front of the mirror, making strange faces until his teeth sparkle, and though she thinks it would be fun to do it beside him, she doesn't.

The windows of Keiko's ramen shop and the mirrors of the stores where Shizuru takes her to buy clothes display further differences. Unlike the girls' smooth bangs, her hair gathers in points like icicles, and none of them have red eyes. Together with her toothpaste-colored hair (winter green, she's told), her features draw the attention of everyone she passes. Shizuru offers to dye her hair and buy her colored lenses, but she declines. She's learned that if she smiles, most people will smile back before ducking their heads away. On days she can't summon one, their own mouths stay level or dip down.

It's something she's noticed about humans. If they care for each other, the imitations run deeper. When Keiko rests her hip against the counter, Urameshi leans against it in a slouched half-imitation, and Shizuru's shoulders never drop unless Kazuma is folded over a desk. But Yukina's still practicing smiling on command, and her own posture is always stiff, her steps short even without her kimono, though the Kuwabaras' long legs eat up a square of concrete with each lunge.

She hasn't seen enough of Demon World to know if this mirroring is unique to humans, or if Hiei is just strange. He only smiles when someone else is frowning, and the reverse; he doesn't face people, either his chin or the frame of his shoulders pointing away; he sits, stands, and lies on surfaces others won't sit, stand, or lie on, in positions they wouldn't take; and he keeps his hands in his pockets while others gesture wildly with their own, his eyes rarely meeting theirs.

That's one area in which only he is her mirror. Fire behind glass, on the same level, or would be if he hadn't taken to wearing heeled boots. She's noticed, too, that he softens when she does and frosts over when she becomes like ice, and if her lips are parted in total loss, his are likely to be as well. On the rare chances she gets she watches to see if he reflects anyone else this way, but she is the only one.

* * *

When Yukina brushes her teeth next to Kazuma he says nothing about her fangs, and she stands on her tiptoes to make faces next to him. Shizuru rolls her eyes at them from the hall, not complaining about them hogging the bathroom despite how long she needs to get ready.

Shizuru starts smoking outside instead of in her bedroom. If it's an attempt to keep Yukina away from the smoke, it fails, as she jumps at the opportunity to not be confined by walls. Sometimes they don't speak, listening to cars and the birds that have begun nesting near the house. Other times Shizuru gives Yukina the sort of unannounced advice that reminds Yukina with an ache of Genkai. And every so often Yukina will chirp along with the birds, something humans have given her strange looks for from time to time, though Shizuru only smiles.

If Kazuma is still hurting from Yukina's rejection, it shows only in his half-finished jokes (if they were ever that), the long looks he gives her while they sit watching television, times he reaches for her before rubbing his neck instead. Shizuru mentions once that she warned him it was too early to propose to anyone, everything else aside, but otherwise they don't discuss it. He's told everyone that's asked that she's his new little sister, and they'd better not mess with her. When only she's around, he coos at Eikitchi in a way he won't when friends are over, though he has little time for fun with how hard he's studying. Knowing none of the material, Yukina can only deliver food to his room while he works late into the night.

The evening after Kazuma graduates from college, Urameshi drops by with several of Kazuma's friends and a case of alcohol. Shizuru puts out snacks and they all toast to Kazuma's success, quickly forgetting the cause for celebration as they unwind, playing games and becoming progressively rowdier. Yukina loses all of the card games, though she hardly cares, and she watches the others arm wrestle until Urameshi knocks a glass off the table and Shizuru chews him out.

Without anyone saying as much, Kurama's been made designated driver. Yukina watches him move about the room, lifting bottles from slack hands and tapping shoulders that need to be tapped. The people around him yell, and his soft voice chips away at the volume until it's muted, never quite to his extent, but closer than it started.

When the noise settles, Kurama escorts everyone who needs to be escorted home, and Urameshi and Keiko fall asleep folded around each other on the couch. Kazuma has already passed out in a chair; Yukina is kneeling nearby, playing over the night in her mind. Shizuru lays blankets over the rest and touches Yukina, who's too tired not to flinch away. After disappearing, Shizuru brings out pillows so that Yukina can curl up on the floor, listening to her friends' steady breaths.

She wants to imprison the moment in glass, like the snow globe Keiko bought her when she moved in. The same scene to shake and swirl whenever she's sad: little sculptures in a flurry of glitter, always settling safely down again unless the glass breaks.

* * *

Humans aren't sculptures. Most of the time, they don't break like shattering glass, but wither like a plant in frozen ground.

As the years pass, Shizuru develops coughing fits that worsen. Grey eats at the roots of her hair despite her coloring it, and she gives in after the poof over Kazuma's forehead recedes.

When she finally collapses, the hospital staff holds Yukina up at the desk. They usher her into Shizuru's room after Shizuru yells at the staff. "That's my daughter, and she's the only one who's allowed to give me medicine without getting punched in the face, so screw your red tape or I'll screw it for you."

The sight of her in the hospital bed doesn't match her threats. Yukina strokes the wrinkles below Shizuru's knuckles while Kazuma squeezes the other hand, and Yukina thinks about all of the ways to heal a stab wound without coming up with one to stop a human from decaying from the inside. The herbs Kurama sneaks in can only ease her pain. Yukina's skin is as smooth as ice compared to Kazuma's when his palm swallows her hand.

Though the basic traditions remain the same, Shizuru's funeral stands in stark contrast to Genkai's. Genkai's fame could have brought hundreds of attendants if the group had publicized her death, but they hadn't, mindful of her desire to be left alone and preserve the land for demons. Yukina doesn't recognize most of Shizuru's friends and coworkers, as there are only so many years Yukina can be around a human before they notice something's wrong. Seeing all of them, she only now wonders how many houseguests the Kuwabaras would have had if she hadn't unwittingly hoarded the family.

Her only consolation comes when she hands Kazuma his third embroidered handkerchief and remembers the night Shizuru confided her main wish: for her little brother to outlive her, and live well. She's satisfied, Yukina hopes. Botan confirms this in a watery visit.

* * *

The next time Yukina sees Botan, she smells of the lilies by Keiko's bed. Yukina hasn't seen Urameshi all day, only heard him. Kazuma finally goes to him, leaving Yukina without the arm she's been clinging to, and it's only a few minutes later that Botan appears and cries on Yukina's shoulder.

"They tell us not to get attached," Botan says between hiccups. "The other ferry girls whisper about how silly and impulsive I am, but they're a cold lot."

Yukina has never met another ferry girl, but in her mind they look like her people, and she understands.

"Would you have given up the chance to know her?" Yukina asks.

"No, of course not! Not for anything. Not darling Keiko." That sets Botan off again, and Yukina holds down her own tears by rubbing Botan's back.

* * *

After Shizuru's death Kazuma has never been the same, though even with his dwindling energy he's not the type to roll over and wait for his time. When it finally comes Yukina expects to be hit with the same shower of grief as when she thought Toguro had killed him. But it's a slower, quieter affair, and she's never able to summon such outbursts unless shocked into them, so it's as if a part of her melts away, leaving empty air.

Urameshi screams enough for both of them. At the wake the words _Who am I going to fight now? Who am I going to fight?_ echo in Yukina's ears after Urameshi's been dragged away. They seem strange, as Urameshi has never had a problem finding opponents, but she doesn't care to question it.

Giving him space, she looks around for someone else to comfort or at least share her grief. More people surround her than at Shizuru's ceremonies, flowing in by the moment, a whole flood of people Kazuma touched. Her heart aches when she turns to tell him, _see, I told you,_ and finds herself pressed against a wall to avoid the tide of strangers.

 _Who am I going to fight?_

Finally she leaves and wanders to the trees, seeking creatures smaller than her. Kurama finds her resting against a trunk. She's felt the plants reaching for him since entering the woods, though she hadn't seen him at the wake.

"I'll be paying my respects shortly. I don't care to do so in groups," he says. She nods. "What will you do?"

"I don't know. I have no reason to stay in Human World anymore," Yukina says. He nods in return.

"There's a demon named Mukuro. Her reputation is fierce, but you'll be safe with her."

Though she's heard the name, she's still ignorant of most of Demon World and isn't sure where the confidence comes from. Nevertheless she trusts it.

"You'll always have a place with me, as well," he continues. "Please don't think you must be alone."

The kindness stirs something in her that her loneliness had not. His energy feels ancient; she thinks about how he's been displaced from as many worlds as her, and about all the people he must have lost.

"The same goes for you," she says, taking his hands. They're as dry and wrinkled as the tree bark; she suspects it won't be long before he sheds the skin and starts anew. _As if he's a snake, not a fox,_ she thinks with what would on another day be amusement.

With surprise he looks down, then smiles thinly, tiredly. "Thank you," he whispers.

* * *

Yukina doesn't leave immediately. As neither Kuwabara had children, she took care of them as they aged, and at some point Kurama pulled strings to list her as their legal family and heir. She nods numbly through the posthumous procedures, passing paperwork along to Kurama, who's begun sleeping on Kazuma's couch for the purpose. He never announced himself; she simply found him there in a ball as if a tail should be curled around him, and she laid Kazuma's old sweater over him, averting her eyes while he buried his nose in the fabric.

She wonders if Mukuro is somebody he would be safe with, too. She can find her herself, if not. She always used to travel alone.

Before she can make any plans, Hiei arrives, standing on her windowsill just as evening is about to drop. When she hurries to let him in, he doesn't step inside the room. Without preamble he asks, "Are you ready?"

She doesn't ask how he knew. "Kurama…"

"He can take care of himself."

On a basic level she doesn't doubt it, but on another she wonders. Her refusal to move must convey her concern, as Hiei's gaze flickers around the room, and his voice lowers. "Being seen like this wounds his pride. He'll come when he's ready."

He would know best, she supposes, so she packs before she can linger on the fact that she's leaving this place for good. Hiei tells her he'll meet her outside, though when she steps out he's nowhere to be seen. As expected he emerges from the house with a faint smell of roses covering ash, and wordlessly they set off into the twilight.


	2. Her Silver Lining

They don't walk alongside each other. Hiei glides along tree branches and rooftops where they're available, unable to keep pace with Yukina's slow steps when they aren't. The evening air vibrates with his heat, leaving a trail for her to follow.

If she weren't already in a haze, the journey's surreality would strike her. In the past few decades she's seen little of her twin. They haven't said what they are in so many words, but they must both know, the same way they always knew group reunions would have someone who shared their quiet demeanor and suspicion of human inventions. Once when a gathering overwhelmed Yukina, she stepped outside and found him up in a tree. Not wanting to bother him, she sat at its base, playing with a squirrel. As she stood she invited him inside, which made his eyes widen as he'd apparently thought he was hidden.

But at some point Hiei lost track of the way humans age, returning from a long spell of training to find his greying friends settled into their responsibilities, and Yukina supposes he couldn't handle the shock. She stopped feeling him in the forest while the rest of them played on the beech, or finding unaccounted for gaps in snacks at their get-togethers. Her fantasies of him clearing the air about their relation and sweeping her away for a family trip dimmed to hopes that he'd return to Human World, to hopes that he was happy, to hopes that he was alive.

It's not quite the trip she envisioned, but he's alive and with her, more than can be said about her friends.

In the middle of a field he stops beside what seems to be empty air before his katana slices it. Yukina peers around his shoulder at the void. When Tarukane's henchmen brought her to Human World, she was unconscious. Though she's touched both worlds, the space between lies unseen.

Whatever darkness she expected, she's met instead with flashing lights that make her squint. Within seconds she's nursing a headache. "It's just like Kazuma's video games," she mutters. Hiei makes a sputtering sound she doesn't ask after.

Without warning any semblance of floor drops away. Yukina falls through empty air, too disoriented to do more than clutch her suitcase. The mountains spiking the horizon don't seem to change position, but then she's below tree level and in Hiei's arms.

For a moment she clings, seeking the warmth she lacked at the recent wake. He eases her down and her feet touch Demon World soil for the first time in decades.

Soil isn't the right word. Not so much as a sprout grows in the cracked ground, the forest distant enough to hide whatever lives within. Though fireflies no longer float beside her, she doesn't need them to see the purple night sky. The cloying scent of exhaust has been replaced with raw, heady stenches, and the air presses down on her, perhaps because it's thinner up in the Glacial Village. She thought she'd forgotten.

They come to a stream that runs rusty from some kind of mineral and follow its winding path between plateaus. Red and purple funguses grow along the bank, making her wish Kurama were there, though even without his advice she knows not to touch them.

Hiei doesn't speak, but he's close beside her now, his wrist twitching in his pocket. The set of his jaw tells her that something is wrong. She doesn't ask what, silently putting one foot in front of the other.

They're passing under a cliff when he hooks an arm around her waist and draws her into an indent in the rock, leaning to whisper in her ear.

"Don't move a muscle until I return."A chill rushes in as he vanishes.

Sounds of battle slip around the bend. Rock presses down on Yukina's head and jabs against the back of her locked knees. They give an inch. She's good at becoming a statue, but the plaster chips from doubt. Hiei is a swift fighter—if he hadn't run into trouble, he would have already dispatched any threats.

The shouts and energy bursts dwindle. He doesn't return. A bead of sweat runs down Yukina's temple like a snowman beginning to melt.

Carefully she sets down her suitcase and creeps along the cliff side, poking her nose around the corner. A trio of horned demons stands in a triangle. Yukina stifles a gasp as she finds Hiei squirming against rock, one of the demons pinning his right arm. A palm covers his mouth, the fingers holding down the lid of his Jagan. The third demon wrestles with his remaining limbs, shielded from neck to belt by a metal plate that his heels glance harmlessly off. Laughing, the demon grabs his ankle and twists.

Unable to watch, Yukina calls out, sending a blast of icy wind to distract them. Hiei sees her first, fear stretching his eyes in a way his predicament hadn't. The others follow his gaze, and the armored demon lets go to walk steadily toward her.

The problem with ice powers is that using them requires shutting out her emotions. Genkai was a fierce instructor, but Yukina felt safe with her. It's different freezing her anxiety while a killer strong enough to oppose Hiei bears down on her. He's taller than he looked from a distance, his horns winding to sickening points, his armor scorched from what must have been Hiei's failed attack. Bile rises in her throat.

Luckily, grief has numbed her enough to let her conjure ice at her fingertips. She clutches her fists to her chest, hidden weapons slicing the fabric as the attacker's shadow falls over her. Hiei screams her name. It aids her tactic, but almost distracts her from her gambit.

Just as rotten breath bathes her face, she lifts her chin and flicks her wrist, flinging tiny darts of ice into the attacker's many eyes. The demon howls, swiping inaccurately enough for her to duck under and away. A swishing tail brushes her leg.

Her wrist trembles as she runs, knowing she missed her chance to attack, knowing she isn't prepared to take life, knowing she can only buzz about the enemy like a fly until she's squashed.

The demon stomps behind her. Not daring to check if he's blinded, she enters the stream, feeling it slosh around her ankles and soak into her socks. Several paces in she turns and sees her attacker standing on the bank, too savvy to follow an ice apparition into water. A battle rages behind him, but she can't take her eyes off of him to see how Hiei is faring.

Some kind of slug oozes over her foot. As she shakes it off, she gets an idea, kicking hard enough to splash the water as she flings her sandal at the enemy. It slaps the top of the metal plate and slides off.

Still blinking rapidly from her attack, the demon stares down at the shoe. "You're not even worth using to torture him," he says before turning to go.

Yukina bites hard enough to taste blood, teal energy glowing around her behind the enemy's back. She zooms in on the water splattered by her shoe. Some has slipped inside the armor, joining sweat. Freezing it, she applies as much pressure as she can muster. The moisture expands.

As the metal cracks, a blast of black flames takes advantage of the opening to hit the demon's exposed chest, swallowing a resulting scream. It dissipates in a swirl of smoke before it reaches the water.

Breathing heavily, she tries to get her bearings. The other two enemies are little more than soot in the background. Hiei is at her side before she can find him among it.

"I thought I told you not to move. Dammit, I didn't expect demons like that to be prowling this far out."

"It's all right—I'm all right. How about you?"

He ignores her question, studying her. When he sees she's fine, his lip curls. "Congratulations for not following orders. They clearly didn't anticipate an ice maiden as their downfall."

"I counted on that…though I didn't do much. Did you know them? They seemed to know your weaknesses."

Hurt pride wipes any trace of a smile from his face. "No, I didn't. Ugh, they weren't even that strong."

His Jagan flashes. In the past she thought his eyes mirrored hers, but she realizes they can't if they don't number the same. The third isn't even red, but purple, as if her hair and eyes had been mixed on a palette. He can't have been born with it, she thinks, her windpipes tightening.

The way his brow furrows at the stream pulls her away from the thought—of course a fire demon would hate getting wet. She giggles, wondering if he just now noticed. The sight of his wounds sobers her. He isn't bleeding much, but he's plenty bruised, with at least one nasty cut across his arm.

"Please, let me heal you," she says. He looks up at her with surprise, then turns away.

"It's just a scratch."

"It could get infected. Plus, I need to check for internal damage, and…"

Pulling away from her reach, he returns to the shore. She has to bite her tongue not to point out that there's no point in acting tough when she already saw him cornered.

With disinterest he glances at the gash and licks the blood dripping down his arm. Yukina's seen demons lick swords clean to scare their opponents—they'd cock their chin and smirk, running their tongue slowly along the blade. This is more like watching a cat's rough little tongue lap at spilt milk. He stops to retrieve his sword, and she exits the stream, stepping carefully around the charred remains to pick up her sandal.

For the rest of the trip Hiei keeps his distance. By the time they reach their destination the sky is red, like someone swiped blood across the purple canvas. At first Yukina mistakes the mobile fortress for a giant demon; it's the shape of a centipede, its face emerging from foliage and stopping scant feet away from them with a whirring sound. Its mouth drops open to extend a ramp like a tongue.

"Come on," Hiei says. "Only fools keep Mukuro waiting." He ascends the ramp, and Yukina follows him, letting the beast swallow her up.

* * *

"You're late."

Mukuro says it without turning. She's crouched beside a set of blank monitors, her head inside a silver box. Hiei folds his arms.

"A welcoming party that shouldn't have been anywhere near the border wasted our time. What the hell has everyone here been doing?"

The hand Mukuro waves clutches something sharp that doesn't look as if it should be waved. "I've been dealing with a bunch of metal junk throwing tantrums. If the patrols are wimping out, too, I can't be bothered. You take care of it now that you're here."

"He was injured protecting me," Yukina bursts out. She's been making herself small, thinking about how little Demon World etiquette she knows. "He needs to rest before he fights again."

Hiei gives her a sharp look. "I'll take care of it," he tells Mukuro.

Mukuro's head emerges, spinning toward Yukina with one wide eye that seems to scrutinize her better than most could with five. Yukina doesn't breathe until Mukuro's face smoothes. She rests the tool over her shoulder as she stands.

"So you made it in one piece. Hiei, take our guest to her room. Further instructions will come later."

For all her brusqueness, Mukuro's speech is level, almost mechanical. It puts Yukina at ease despite herself. Though she would expect Hiei to buck against orders, he whisks her out before she can do more than thank Mukuro for her hospitality.

She watches her feet to avoid stumbling on the uneven ground, which is made of the same red, veined material as the ramp-tongue, like they're truly in the beast's belly. In close quarters Hiei can't hide how he drags one foot as he walks, grimacing every handful of steps. Yukina halts.

"I knew it. You are injured."

"I said it's fine." Hiei's voice is a low hiss.

"It's your ankle, isn't it? I can fix it if you let me."

Hiei swivels his head toward a couple of demons that had been carrying monitors down the hall. Their stares travel between Yukina and Hiei's leg until his glare sends them off.

Upon reaching her room he shuts the door, his Jagan glowing like he's checking for eavesdroppers. "You aren't in Human World anymore. Nobody is going to thank you for drawing attention to their weaknesses."

"I wasn't trying—I was only worried about you."

That catches him off guard for a second before he turns away. "Don't waste your energy. You've had a long day, just rest." He barely gives her the chance to call _thank you very much for escorting me_ after him as he leaves.

Though she should unpack, she sets her suitcase in the corner without doing so. It holds treasures she inherited, and she doesn't want to unlock that set of feelings just yet.

* * *

The walls have fewer membranes than those in the hall. The tissue looks spongy, but it's smooth to the touch, like warm metal. Only a round bed, a chest, and a side table furnish the room, which has no windows. Though not intending to sleep, Yukina lies back on the bed—if she sits upright, the small, boxy room makes her anticipate a visit from Tarukane. Icicles form around the room's corners. She lets them melt naturally, watching droplets slide down the wall.

Those memories haven't haunted her in years. Her life began in the aftermath, when she first met her twin and friends. She'd forgotten that until Kazuma asked her if she hated humans, the answer might have been yes.

The remaining ice crashes to the floor as tears sting her eyes. She manages to hold them back and sit up before Hiei reappears with a bowl.

"I can't recommend you eat with Mukuro," he explains. "Of course, you might want to eat alone." He looks hopeful at the idea.

"I don't mind the company." Privately she delights at how the passive wording makes him freeze. After handing over the bowl he sits against the wall with a hand over one knee as if he just happened to settle there.

She has no appetite, but her stomach is empty enough to accept the food. Rice and pickles accompany mushy, charred vegetables. She gets the feeling it's not what the cooks usually make and hopes she hasn't inconvenienced them. When the bottom of the bowl becomes visible she starts nudging the last grains around, assuming that Hiei will leave when she's done.

"When did you learn to fight?"

Startled, she looks down at him. She thought his first two eyes were avoiding her, but he's watching her like a curious cat.

"Genkai taught me to control my energy," she says. "The others continued teaching me techniques after…"

She stops herself on the cusp of choking turns away.

"So, you work for Mukuro? Kurama didn't really explain," Yukina says, scissoring her chopsticks.

"He's good at withholding explanations unless you don't want to hear them." He doesn't offer more, and Yukina doesn't pry, stacking her remaining rice along the side of the bowl.

"Why did you think I shouldn't eat with Mukuro?"

Hiei's tension belies his attempt to joke it off. "She's a pig. It's not pleasant to watch."

Knowing better than to think he'll share the truth, she finishes the last few grains in silence.

* * *

If Yukina's situation has a silver lining, it's the chance to finally be with her twin. However, after her first day at the fortress he makes himself scarce, always out on patrols or other jobs, and strangers dump her food outside her door. She begins to keep it propped open just for a chance at interaction, quickly realizing that Mukuro doesn't usually have guests, as a different demon delivers the food each time.

One day she stops a purple-skinned woman, asking her about Mukuro. "What do you wanna know?" the woman asks.

"Well…anything. I don't really know much about her."

The woman scratches her temple, looking at Yukina as if she's sprouted a human from her head. "You're her special guest, aren't you? She said nobody's to touch you unless they want their stomach carved out. Not as scary as it would have been in her prime, but y'know, most of us don't have death wishes."

"Oh," is all Yukina can say.

 _Don't dawdle,_ Mukuro's voice enters, as if echoing from no specific expecting telepathy, Yukina jumps. It seems to be a message to the woman, though, as she scuttles down the hall without a goodbye.

 _Report to me. And bring your food_.

After orienting herself, Yukina picks up the tray the woman left and hurries down the hall. She can't say how she knows where Mukuro is, but her feet carry her to the right room, where Mukuro sits in a way that transforms her ordinary armchair into a throne.

"I thought it was time we had a little chat, since you're curious," Mukuro says. "But please, eat."

Yukina sets the tray on the coffee table in between Mukuro and the smaller chair she settles into, but she only picks up the drink, unsure if Hiei's warning applies when Mukuro herself isn't eating.

"I'm sorry for being nosy," Yukina says.

"Don't be silly. I'd be more offended if you weren't." Mukuro brings a hand up from the armrest to prop her chin on it. "Well, ask away."

Yukina sips the drink, which she'd think was tea if it weren't so murky. "Could you please tell me what you do?"

"Where to begin…? For centuries I ruled Demon World as one of its kings."

"A king?" Half-choking, Yukina covers her mouth. "Forgive my rudeness. I didn't know you were royalty."

Mukuro waves a hand. "Those days are behind me. Though we hold a tournament every few years to decide the next ruler, I find myself lacking the ambition. As for now, this fortress oversees the patrols along the border between worlds. It's become tradition for tournament losers to handle patrol duty, so Hiei and I are always stuck on it, dull as it is." She pauses. "Of course, that means I'm the boss."

"I see…" Unable to grasp politics at the moment, Yukina tucks that knowledge away. "If you don't mind my asking, why do you participate in the tournament if you don't want to win and don't like patrolling?"

"So you noticed." Mukuro turns toward a katana resting against the wall, and Yukina's cheeks heat at her own intrusion. She curls up around her cup, staring at the folds of her skirt between her knees, an old flower print sheet that Shizuru repurposed.

"I guess I'm stubborn," Mukuro concludes. "Are you going to eat? You're so small, it looks like you're going to shrivel away."

* * *

Yukina is saved the answer to the question of Mukuro's eating habits, as she doesn't summon her during mealtime again. From what little Yukina can glean, the technological problems and the demons that assaulted Hiei seem to be related, leaving Mukuro busy getting to the bottom of it. Not wanting to stay in her room, Yukina wanders the fortress with her hands tucked against her chest, murmuring _excuse me_ more than she says anything else. Demons shiver while she passes, as she's stopped withholding the winter she carries with her. Sometimes eyes graze over her, and she grasps the moisture in the air in case they decide to cash in on her ability, but Mukuro's threats deter them.

Her room lacks the houseplants Kurama always supplied her with, and for its organic appearance, the fortress is as technologically based as the boxy metal toys humans constantly make smaller. She takes to leaving the fortress whenever possible, though she always keeps it in sight. Sometimes the land is as dry and barren as the ground she first landed on. Other times she finds rivers to wade in, watching for small aquatic demons like the one that's settled in Genkai's sea. And when she's especially lucky, the centipede will push its way through a forest, and she'll listen to the wildlife while studying dappled shadows left by the leaves.

One such day she senses Hiei in a nearby tree. While a couple of decades ago she might have left him alone, she tilts her head up to find him among the branches and chirps a greeting. He doesn't respond.

Bolstered by the forest, she's too otherwise restless to let it go. She calls louder. With only a slight rustle he drops beside her, placing a finger over his lips. Frowning, she listens, but hears no sign of danger.

"What's wrong?" she mouths.

"We can't be seen together."

 _Of course not—there's nobody around to see us,_ she thinks. "Why not?"

"This isn't like Hum—"

"I know." It bursts from her in an unfamiliar tone. She lowers her chin, returning to a whisper. "I know."

A root lies between them, thicker than her limbs. He nudges it with the toe under his hurt ankle. "I have enemies here. Any connection of mine can be exploited, _especially_ an ice maiden."

Being kidnapped once was enough for her, as was seeing him pinned down—but his meaning makes her feel empty. "Can't you defeat them? You're a strong fighter, and Mukuro must be, too."

"She is stronger. Few can match her technique, not to mention her ferocity. And I'm no weakling, but I'm also no fool. I refuse to let arrogance be our downfall." His voice softens as he averts his gaze. "Back when Kurama had his human mother, every other enemy he faced threatened her to get a hold over him. He's slipperier than that, but I won't put us in that position."

Though he turns to her, Yukina stares at the ground. Maybe she should trust him, but she can't bear to watch her silver lining slip behind its cloud's silhouette.


	3. The Gambit

Yukina was right about the mushrooms. While the centipede crawls along the stream, a patroller eats one on a dare, and from what Yukina can understand there's little left of him beyond a purple gas. She has to leave before hearing the rest of the story, his teams' laughter ringing in her ears.

Meanwhile the rest of the patrol is made responsible, a disgruntled Mukuro tells everyone over her telepathic intercom. The fortress locks down, dispatching a team to clean the area and test the stream for poison. Everyone else is stuck inside. A quick poke around the fortress tells Yukina she's better off staying out of the way, forcing her back to the room she's been trying to avoid while awake.

Long emptied of necessities she's transferred to the chest, her suitcase has collected a film of dust. She runs a finger through it, absently drawing a cat. Kazuma taught her his method—two circles for the head, two triangles for each ear, ovals for eyes…her finger veers off, stretching a whisker down the side of the suitcase.

On her way to the bed she almost trips over a tray. She stacks it with the dozen others she's keeping in a frozen corner of the room. She means to eat, but each time another is delivered it goes on the pile. The stack serves as her timepiece in place of the clocks and calendars that humans consolidated into phones and tablets, keeping each second at their fingertips. If not for the food, she'd lose track of the time of day now that she's stuck inside, and then the days themselves.

She falls back on the bed, convinced she'll stare at the ceiling until the next delivery, but her lids shut of their own accord. In her dreams the human that died trying to save her from Tarukane is Shizuru. Kazuma bursts in, begging Yukina to leave, but she refuses to budge from the chair, telling him _no, you'll die next._ When he grabs her arm, his hand catches on fire. As he screams, the fire spreads, fanning out into wings that flap to the ceiling and beat against the metal. After the fire dies, Yukina is alone in the room, and the dream repeats.

After countless cycles, she bursts upright with a gasp. Her fingers twine in hot sheets, and flames tower around her. The bed Shizuru lent her is on fire. She has to escape, to warn someone. She…

She blinks enough times to see. What she mistook for flames is the red wall, and the heat is only Hiei, curled up on the foot of her bed. She hasn't seen him since that day in the forest. She watches his chest rise and fall until Mukuro enters with a tray of Yukina's usual fare along with a chunk of raw meat.

"I thought you'd be awake," Mukuro says. She nods at Hiei. "Our little bullfrog is another matter." Her gaze passes over him to the stack of trays on the other side of the bed. "If there's something wrong with the food, say so."

"No—it's fine, thank you. I just wasn't hungry."

Mukuro snorts. "I suppose that's why you passed out? Hiei freaked. I finally sent him on a training mission so he could come hibernate with you."

"Hibernate? How long have I been asleep?"

"Hard to say, with everything else breaking down around here. A week? Two?"

" _Weeks_?" Yukina may have slept this long in the Glacial Village, but she always took care to rise with her human family.

"Eat up. If you pass out again, I'll earn a reputation as a poor host."

Mukuro manages to wink, a feat with one eye. Smiling weakly, Yukina reaches for the food before remembering Hiei's warning. Mukuro is standing beside her bed, closer than she's ever been. Close enough for Yukina to catch a whiff of rot on her breath that takes effort to identify.

"You eat humans."

The accusation doesn't faze Mukuro. It's hardly something to hide in Demon World…from anyone except Yukina. Her outstretched fingers curl up, returning to her side.

"She has no choice," Hiei mumbles. Only his Jagan is open. "And it's not like anyone lets us harvest them by—"

"Don't defend me while I'm right here. I might start thinking you like me."

Yukina doesn't see how he reacts, as she's wrinkling her nose at the meat on the tray. "Don't worry, that's just Hiei's," Mukuro says. "We keep the human separate."

It's too late for reassurances, as Yukina's empty stomach is trying to wretch, the smell of death invoking memories twisted with dreams.

* * *

Since Yukina's apparent age and lack of a legitimate paper trail rendered her ineligible for most school and employment in Human World, she often did housework. Keeping food warm proved a challenge before she learned to control her powers, but she could prepare ingredients methodically. Kazuma taught her how to peel apples to look like rabbits, and Shizuru taught her how to prepare Kazuma's favorite meals. Yukina delighted in mochi, though she had a private love for anything spicy.

She doesn't care what she eats now as long as her own hands prepare it. When she's well enough to walk around, Yukina shows up unannounced in the kitchen and says that while she's grateful to whoever has been preparing her food, she'll start cooking for herself. At the sight of her, demons shut containers she knew better than to look into. Eventually she's ushered into a room with a small stove and given a stock of ingredients. "You can keep what needs to be kept cold yourself, can't ya?" they ask, and she agrees, setting about fashioning an icebox after they've left.

In the following days any interaction she's had diminishes. When she must speak with someone she's polite enough, but any experience she gained in Human World at earning smiles flees in favor of a still tongue and blank expression. Mukuro checks on her a couple of times, but at Yukina's behavior Mukuro becomes more brusque and stoic than usual, ultimately avoiding her altogether.

Whenever the centipede climbs over a hurdle, the stove goes out and Yukina's ingredients are jostled. At some point she gives up and eats raw vegetables, not wanting to faint again and worry the others—or see if they'll no longer be worried.

 _But they were,_ she reminds herself. She doesn't get far with the thought before picturing her friends on the demons' plates.

The centipede comes to rest at the peak of one of many rocky hills, Yukina sees when she goes outside. Wary of losing her footing, she doesn't stray far, looking out over the bumps that stretch to the land beyond the Glacial Village looked this treacherous when she first left. Even so she slipped and slid onward, accumulating scrapes she kept as tokens. All she cared about was putting distance between herself and the village's icy inhabitants, those who'd hole up alone and condemn others before giving them a chance.

Though she's anchored, Yukina feels nauseas. Maybe she's been hasty. Maybe she should have asked Hiei to finish his explanation.

A growling stomach leads her inside to cook a proper meal. As she does, an idea comes to her, and she begins preparing more ingredients.

* * *

A couple of hours later she seeks out Mukuro. She finds her hunched over a blueprint, directing Hiei to hold a sample part _one millimeter higher—no, one lower…_ When Yukina interrupts, he drops the part with a clank.

"What is it?" Mukuro asks without looking up. While she still has the nerve Yukina sets down a tray on the one clean corner of the table and steps back, bowing.

"I know you've both been working hard, so I brought you some stew."

"You're trying to change my diet," Mukuro says, sounding neither offended nor impressed. "What makes you think I haven't tried everything already?"

"I'm sure you have, but your kitchen was nice enough to supply me with ingredients imported from Human World, and I thought maybe if you ate the things humans got their nutrients from…"

They stare at each other, Mukuro unreadable, Yukina's eyes cranked up to meet hers without lifting her chin. Mukuro arches a brow at the food. It was boiling when Yukina dished it, but now it emits only the barest whisper of steam.

The silence breaks when Hiei slurps the last bit of broth from his portion, which Yukina didn't see him pick up. Though the knot between his eyes confirms that meatless human food isn't to his taste, Yukina beams at the empty bowl. Mukuro sighs.

"I might as well try, is that it? A few vegetables can't kill me." Despite Mukuro's hesitation, she downs the entire portion in one set of gulps, gnawing the more fibrous vegetables with the oddest expression while she wipes her face on her sleeve. Yukina manages not to fidget.

"Is it all right?"

It becomes harder to stay still as she waits for Mukuro to answer. Silent, Mukuro pales, her eye widening. Without further warning she smacks the table, making the tray crash to the ground.

Yukina flinches. "Um—"

"Get. _Out_."

Frozen with shock, Yukina looks to Hiei for guidance, but his gaze is fixed on Mukuro. Thawed from the shame burning her, she scrambles to do as Mukuro said.

* * *

Yukina returns to her room, not because she wants to but for lack of anywhere else to go. Having forgotten to eat her own meal, she sits on the bed with a growling stomach, both longing for and dreading an intrusion. The suitcase in the corner mocks her. Before she's managed to unpack it, she might be asked to take it and leave.

She sees Hiei after he's already latched the door. She half-rises, stabilizing herself with a hand when she realizes he's glaring at her.

To anyone else in all three realms, it would come as no surprise, but she's never truly angered him. She was naïve enough to think she couldn't.

"How is she?" she asks. "Did I make her sick?"

"She's fine. She's not that weak." He sticks his hands in his pockets, not exactly softening but clearly trying to stay composed. "You didn't know this, but Mukuro's body isn't something to be experimented on."

Yukina's cheek feels hot when she clasps it. "I wasn't—I didn't think—oh, no…"

Battling expressions betray a war between Hiei's protective instincts. "Just don't do it again."

He jerks his head toward the door. A moment later Mukuro enters, her grey complexion the only sign that anything happened. Yukina leaps to her feet and asks fretful questions, the words spilling out.

"I told you a few vegetables wouldn't kill me," Mukuro says. "It was just a minor malfunction."

"Still, I made assumptions and tried to change you and might have gotten you sick, and—and I'm sorry for my disrespect."

Yukina bows low, dearly hoping the apology is enough. If Mukuro decides she's not welcome, she'll be stranded.

"She's precious Hiei," Mukuro says instead. "How in Yama's name…?"

For a second all air is sucked from the room, but Mukuro has more subtlety than that. "…Did she travel through two worlds on her own back when we had no patrols?"

Relieved, Yukina stands upright. It's a constant reaction to her— _sweetie,_ her friends said fondly and demons here say with spittle at the edge of forked tongues. She doesn't feel sweet. She feels as if icicles hang from her insides, stabbing down whenever something jolts her. But she inclines her head and explains, "It was difficult. My footwear wasn't made for traveling long distances, so my feet blistered, and I had to bandage them."

Mukuro chokes, reigniting Yukina's worry. But Mukuro only releases a chuckle, which Yukina's giggle tentatively echoes.

* * *

Yukina doesn't realize her stay at Mukuro's has a 'normal' setting until she returns to eating regularly and avoiding Mukuro's feeding. The fortress drives through open land, where Yukina can wander without losing sight of it. She steps heel directly over toe along cracks where grasses fight to grow, trying to forget the slant of Hiei's eyes.

While he's avoiding her again, she can see him if she seeks out Mukuro. The sight of her still makes Yukina's stomach tighten, but she tries to speak to her host, however briefly—for courtesy and curiosity's sake, though it gives her a chance to observe the relationship nobody can quite explain.

They rarely face each other. Oftentimes Mukuro will be buried in machinery like when Yukina first met her, and Hiei will be leaning against some surface nearby, sharpening a weapon. She'll ask him about the state of affairs anywhere from the nearest hallway to the other side of the realm, and red irises will be shut off from Yukina's view as the Jagan glows.

When they walk together he keeps to Mukuro's right side, where her nose must obscure part of her vision. Between the two of them they have four eyes. The thought amuses Yukina, but it also sends heat down her spine.

Sometimes they'll both fold their arms and lean against some wall or table, wearing matching smirks, and Yukina will remember a possessive thought she once had and feel incredibly foolish.

The centipede parks between a pair of plateaus, and Yukina squeezes between the fortress and the rock, wondering at the sort of friction that produces sparks.

* * *

In her dreams the wings of fire drum against barred windows. The talismans Tarukane hung crackle, preventing them from slipping through the cracks. Yukina sits in the chair, unmoving as burns appear on her hands as if she'd touched the talismans herself.

When she wakes they're as unmarred as fresh snow, sweat clinging like condensation. A heart beats at the back of her mind, something she didn't learn hearts could do until she first cried against Shizuru's chest. She rises, her feet carrying her down the dark hall, its walls seeming to pulsate around her.

Her nose catches a familiar scent: blood. Her pace quickens, stopping in front of a tall door. Head pounding, she strains to make out its edges, to remember where this is. It hits her just as the stench prods her to open the door.

The lamps glow enough to make out Mukuro lounging across her bed, her usual accoutrements set aside. The stench worrying Yukina enough to override her embarrassment, she opens her mouth to apologize and ask—but then she sees Hiei kneeling beside the bed, his bandages and shirt in a heap, Mukuro's right hand in his hair. Yukina covers her face.

"I—I'm sorry. I smelled blood, and…"

A blast of heat passes her as Hiei bolts. She lowers her arms to hug herself and takes half a step back before she spies the katana on the ground and the necklace around Mukuro's neck.

Her heel hovers. The hand that claimed Hiei toys with the stone. "Well?" Mukuro asks. "Didn't you want to know something?"

"Is he all right?"

"He'll live."

" _Is he all right_?"

Her own tone catches Yukina off guard. "So he's not the only protective one," Mukuro murmurs. "Yes, don't worry about him. My reputation as a tyrant may precede me, but him, I take care of."

Holding onto any one thought is like snatching at a snowflake in a storm. All Yukina knows is that veins born to carry ice are filled with lava.

"I suppose I should clean the place, if you're my visitor," Mukuro says, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Yukina can't manage to say that it's fine, really, she didn't mean to intrude. Following Mukuro's gestures, she sits in a chair and stares into her lap while Mukuro puts away Hiei's things. When Mukuro settles across from her, Yukina stifles a gasp. From a distance the lighting hadn't shown her all that Mukuro's undershirt doesn't hide, or her face without headgear.

"Do I disgust you?" Mukuro asks.

"No! No, I just…"

"If I minded, you would not be sitting here to see it." At that, Yukina resists looking away. She hadn't wanted to stare, but she realizes Mukuro is extending a gift. The patches where Mukuro's skin has been burned away resemble the centipede's walls, as if the fortress itself birthed her, and her damaged eye seems to examine Yukina even though it can't.

"He comes to me of his own accord," Mukuro says when Yukina doesn't speak. "You know he never would, if it wasn't."

Yukina knows.

"Why do you have my necklace?"

"He let me borrow it. I thought you gave it away."

"I did. I didn't want it anymore."

Mukuro fingers the stone so delicately it's hard to believe her hand is metal. "That's fortunate for me. Your people's peaceful nature emanates from it. It calms me when nothing else can."

The stones have given Yukina so much grief that that's difficult to imagine, but she decides she's glad. "Did Hiei tell you about it?"

"I've learned many things from Hiei, and many on my own." It's the sort of answer Yukina would expect from Kurama, one that lets a dare slide off. "I was once king of a third of Demon World, you know."

"Forgive my insolence."

Mukuro cocks her head. "You use politeness as a veil. Unlike him, you won't open your mind to me at all."

While being analyzed so bluntly disturbs Yukina, the idea of being more closed off than Hiei stirs indignation. "You've shared much with me tonight. I can try."

Mukuro bends over the table to ghost her fingers across Yukina's forehead. It's like an invisible knife slices it, searing her, but the presence that pokes at her mind chills her down to her toes. As exposed as a bare human in a blizzard, Yukina can't help throwing up guards to push Mukuro out. Mukuro retracts her hand.

"You're jealous of me." Hearing the bits of ice and fire she's been struggling with named so simply makes Yukina drop her head.

"I…I'm sorry."

"No, I'm relieved. I'm jealous of you, too."

"What…?"

"Neither Hiei nor I is the type that is easy to form relationships with, let alone maintain them. You, he cares about no matter what."

Yukina doesn't know what to say. Mukuro stretches, arching her back.

"Let's talk about something else. You've now lived in very different parts of Demon World, along with Human World—that's fascinating. Tell me more about it."

Not wanting to think about her life before she met her friends, Yukina describes moving in with the Kuwabaras, their shopping trips and their three toothbrushes lined up on the counter. Mukuro's face is pleasant enough, but blank, as if Yukina is speaking a different language. She backs up and talks about the Dark Tournament, which makes Mukuro lean forward, asking about fighters that Yukina strains to remember. And then she bends under the strain, remembering she won't be returning home to clean Shizuru's ashtray or help Kazuma feed the cats or even watch him fight for his life, and she excuses herself to retire to bed.

* * *

Yukina doesn't return to her room. _Like a moth to a flame,_ she remembers Kurama reciting from a collection of English idioms. She finds Hiei in a corner of an abandoned storeroom, licking his wrist. He's covered himself with his old coat, which he pulls over his hand as she approaches, slowly like she would a stray.

"I'm sorry for intruding before. Will you please show me your wounds?"

Seeing the walls converged behind him, he leaps onto a box. "I thought I warned you about this."

"There's nobody around." Her head has cleared, or at least numbed, enough to exude calmness as she steps around a crate full of tusks. "It's only me."

So as not to pin him down, she lets her gaze wander. The only light comes from a tube of glowing liquid that reaches up to the ceiling, casting a blue edge around everything. Shadows obscure the rest: racks of weapons, barrels of fluid, pipes that look like intestines. A massive mace rests against the far wall. Nothing prevented Yukina from stealing into the room.

"I just want to see," she says, reaching for him. His hand darts down to grab her wrist.

They both freeze, registering that he could snap it, that he _can't_. The dragon stirs, sensing a threat, and Hiei's grip slackens the way Yukina's does when she cradles a bird.

"I warned you," he repeats. The angle of his brow can't come together over his wide eyes. The tube's light turns them blue, harkening back to the people of the Glacial Village. For an instant Yukina considers grabbing his sleeve just to see if he'll fend off the other hand, to see what she can get away with.

 _He cares about you no matter what_.

If she takes advantage of that, she'll ruin any chance they have. "I'll back off if you let go."

His fingers uncurl, remaining stretched before him. Quickly she takes a step back, folding her hands behind her. He presses against the wall, his lips moving soundlessly as if ordering the dragon down.

"Well, you have me here. What do you want?" he asks once it stills.

"Right now, I would like to look at your wounds."

"I can't show you these. They're…private."

"You showed Mukuro," Yukina blurts. The blue glow reflects off of slits.

"That has nothing to do with you."

"I know, but…" Her hands wring behind her back. "You told me being with others was dangerous. You two are obviously close—and I'm glad! I am. So couldn't we spend time together, too, if we're careful?"

"I also told you Mukuro is stronger than I am."

"And I'm weaker."

His silence answers. A few decades ago, she might have agreed, but too many people have shown her different types of strength.

"Running and hiding isn't proving your strength," she says. "Aren't you the one who always finds a way to bend the world to your will?"

The appeal to his pride is a gambit, but one she hopes will pay off as she watches him fidget. "What are you getting at?"

"I'll become strong enough that you don't have to worry about me. If—if in exchange… You try to make me happy."

"Impossible."

"Which part?"

"All of it."

She breathes deeply, forcing the breaths not to sharpen, her chin not to drop. Watching Kurama has taught her a little about gambling. "Would your teammates expect you to say trying is impossible?"

His nostrils flare. "Incredible. You can be a little shit, if you want to."

"I'm not in Human World anymore," she says. "So I'm adjusting. You can, too, right?"

After staring for a long moment, he shakes his head. "You and Kurama adapt too much—and manipulate too well. Fine. I'll take up your challenge. But understand, when I compete, I don't lose."

She resists a smile. Maybe by the time he realizes that if he wins, she wins, it will be too late for him to bow out.


	4. His Solution

The next morning, Hiei is gone.

"He'll be back," Mukuro assures Yukina. "He never stays, and he never stays away." If her voice is especially tight, Yukina doesn't know her well enough to be sure.

After their conversation the night before, she can't imagine what he's thinking. Only his inability to back down from a challenge stops her from assuming she pushed him away for good.

In the meantime, she gets busy with her promise. Without asking why Yukina wants to practice self-defense, Mukuro sets her up with a fighter named Natsume who responds stiffly to Yukina's greeting. To her surprise, Natsume looks humanoid and, as Yukina tells, her has a cute ribbon—but as soon as they stand opposite each other in the training room, Yukina senses she'll be a relentless tutor.

She's right, though luckily Natsume starts with the foundation rather than trying to beat power into her. She works on fundamentals from Genkai that slipped in Yukina's years of peace—dodges, blocks, and throws that take advantage of Yukina's small stature for leverage. Yukina leaves each session feeling clumsy and sore, unable to shake the feeling that she's wasting Natsume's time. Her tutor speaks little beyond what's required, but she often sticks her tongue in her cheek as if there's a remark on the tip of it that she would unleash on any other student.

Probably hearing from Natsume that Yukina has no clothes fit for battle, Mukuro loans her a blue tunic and white shorts that on Yukina function as a dress and loose pants. She rolls up her sleeves, the abundance comforting her like when Kazuma lent her sweaters, though those were covered in cat hair and lacked this metallic smell.

When not training, Yukina now finds it hard to stay idle, lending her healing powers to the medical sector. Her technique and bedside manner don't mesh with the clinical team's machines, but she powers through to feel skin stitching together below her fingers and hear a relieved sigh.

One day a human that fell through the border is carried in over a broad shoulder for hypnosis. One of the human's arms hangs at the wrong angle, making Yukina glad he's not awake to feel the pain.

"It must have twisted under him when he landed," Yukina says, laying it out on the table. The demon preparing for the operation doesn't look at it.

"Our job is only to return them without their memories. As it is, he'll realize he took a nasty spill and go to his own world's hospital to get fixed up. We put him in a splint, and everyone'll say, 'who gave you that?"

Yukina pushes up the man's sleeve. "As long as it looks like a human treatment, will it matter?"

"Hell if I know what humans do for their brittle little bones."

But Yukina knows, and if she doesn't interfere with the hypnosis there's no reason she can't set the arm, so she does.

* * *

In Hiei's absence, Mukuro begins to call on Yukina. The monitors have been fixed and doubled, a whole wall of landscapes that Mukuro's eye flits between. Dizzy if she looks at the swooping pictures for long, Yukina kneels in the corner during long periods of silence. Out of the blue, as Yukina's legs begin to ache, Mukuro will ask a question—what materials humans build with, or what the lowest temperature is that Yukina can summon, or what Yukina thinks of the fourth screen down and to the left. Otherwise, compared to her training and healing, she feels useless until one day when she answers Mukuro's summons and finds a demon stumbling out of the room, half-squealing an apology. The demon glares at Yukina, mumbling _get here sooner next time,_ and when Yukina enters, Mukuro's ashen knuckles loosen against her elbow.

After that Yukina makes a point of showing up whenever the fortress is especially chaotic, and Mukuro doesn't question her presence. For something to work on Yukina asks for sewing materials. With Mukuro's approval Yukina alters the tunic and pants to fit her so that she won't trip so much. Though her room is windowless she sews curtains to hang, embroidering them with a rose pattern she once used on a pillowcase for Kurama. It cheers the place up enough that she embroiders a matching blanket, then knits Mukuro a snug-fitting scarf, as her current one is stretching.

When she presents it, Mukuro appears so confused that Yukina worries she's offended. For almost a minute Mukuro turns it over in her hands before donning it. It's almost funny, a knitted item around such an otherwise tough appearance, but Mukuro strokes the material while she goes about her business.

The next day Yukina's sitting in the cushioned chair Mukuro set up for her in the corner when, without a word, Mukuro drops a book in her lap. "A trader I dealt with had it," she says. The edges of the pages are warped, dark patches betraying water damage. Carefully Yukina pries it open and gasps.

"It might be a knockoff," Mukuro says. "How else would they have gotten it?"

"No, it's real," Yukina whispers. The smell of residue from the trees that grow around the Glacial Village is unmistakable, and she recognizes the first verse of what appears to be a poetry collection.

"Then perhaps it fell out of the sky into a river," Mukuro muses. "It would explain the damage. Are your people in the habit of dropping books off of cliffs, or just babies?"

Yukina's grip almost tightens, but she's holding the book as if pressure would melt it. "You don't have to give this to me."

"Well, it's yours to keep if you want. Or don't—it wouldn't take much to destroy."

"No…. Thank you very much."

She's touched, really, that Mukuro would want to give her something. But if Mukuro asks if she's read it, she'll say she's worried about damaging it further. Once in her room the book gets packed away in the suitcase of things from her past she doesn't want to see.

* * *

When her mother died, Yukina was too young to have much of her besides the necklace. Growing up she sat periodic vigil over her grave, listening to the wind howl and wondering what it was that flickered inside her. The others' blue eyes closed upon her return. They rarely met hers, fear filling them when they did. She accented her hair and clothes with red in case any of them thought she didn't notice.

After finally learning the reason behind her mother's death, Yukina had run out to visit her, her fuse igniting. At the time she didn't have the words _anger_ or _hatred_ , or any words to tear from her throat. She simply knelt there, trembling violently, wondering why her mother had to abandon the child she had left, wondering why any child had to be abandoned at all. It wasn't long before she ran away, dreaming of a place with of other beings of fire and a brother who could punish their people in her stead.

Her human friends died peacefully, in the way humans are meant to. Their deaths couldn't inspire Yukina to anger, or to action. She doesn't know what to do with her suitcase full of treasures, and her friends' graves are a world away. Her mourning has none of any world's rituals, only a winter that's set in.

* * *

"What did you do for work in the Human World?"

It's the second question Mukuro's asked that day, the other being _where did the fool who just left put my remote?_ She's since found it and seems bored by the content on the monitors, which after a false alarm hasn't changed. Yukina has been knitting her a new headband.

"Mostly I did housework. I also helped rescue and nurse stray animals. There was a job I wanted, but…"

"But?"

"Humans have doctors called therapists. They listen to people's problems and try to help them feel better. But given everything, I wasn't qualified to get the training."

"An entire profession just to listen to others' problems? I can't imagine what sort of training could be required for that."

"It's not so easy. Most humans have a hard time absorbing people's feelings that way, not to mention figuring out the best way to help. But I'm trained to turn off my emotions, or at least not show them."

"In that case, why don't you get some practice by listening to me?"

Yukina looks up from her knitting with surprise; since the night she stumbled into Mukuro's room, Mukuro has not discussed her personal life. "Of course," Yukina says.

Mukuro glances toward the closed door, then kneels in front of Yukina and places a finger against her forehead. "I communicate better without my voice."

Seeing Mukuro's scars hasn't prepared her for the images that flood her mind. It throws walls up instinctively, but they crack and melt at even a fraction of the story Mukuro is trying to tell. Mukuro recedes before getting far.

"I thought you said you were trained to turn off your emotions?"

Tears are hardening at the corner of Yukina's eyes. While wiping them away she realizes she's quivering. "I am, but…"

After a few halting attempts at speech, Yukina takes Mukuro's hand and returns it to her forehead. She manages to convey her own past imprisonment and torture before her mind shuts Mukuro out. Absently Mukuro brushes Yukina's bangs.

"It may not be your ideal nest, but perhaps it's not so bad you found your way here," Mukuro murmurs.

Her voice regains its usual tone as she stands. "In any case, I must prepare for tomorrow's outing. Join me if you'd like. I think we agree that being stuck inside gets unpleasant."

* * *

Not privy to the schedules, Yukina doesn't learn that Natsume's out patrolling early the next morning until she enters the training room. Since she's already there, she starts warming up. She doesn't get far before a shadow fall over her.

"Where're your bodyguards, glacier girl?"

Tusks protrude from below the demon's snout, which Yukina is treated with the underside of. Quickly she stands, her viewpoint changing little.

"I have no bodyguards," she says, bowing. "But thank you for your concern."

While the demon laughs, Yukina sizes him up. There's no caution in his stance—they're alone, and he's seen her clumsy warm-ups. His belly is wide open, but attacking first would only give him an excuse.

"Seems to me an ice maiden going around alone is just asking for trouble."

She adjusts the weight on her hips, forcing her face to be blank. "Oh, no, I don't mean to make trouble."

"I didn't ask, did I? Those jewels you cry, for instance—we all know Mukuro has been pumping you for them. But she's too greedy to share the spoils. It's pissing the rest of us off."

"Mukuro would never do something like that!" Yukina snaps before she can stop herself. She bites her tongue as steam emits from the demon's nostrils.

"So she _has_ gone soft. We've known for years, y'know, but everyone still wussed out at her empty threats. I'm not that weak."

The demon reaches for her, palm out, claws extended. Yukina bends her knees and grabs hold of his arm with both hands, using her leverage to send him careening over her shoulder.

She breaks into a run. She's barely aware that she frosted the ground, or that he slides along the ice. At the doorway she skids to a halt.

This is her first time seeing Mukuro look murderous. Really murderous, Yukina realizes with an outbreak of goose bumps.

"Step aside," Mukuro says.

"Wait, are…are you going to kill him?"

"Oh, he'll wish I had. Unfortunately, the last ruler forbade death penalties for crimes without some silly appeal to authority. Not that any authority beyond mine is needed here."

Yukina hadn't heard of the law. It gives her hope that Demon World is moving toward only allowing death as defense, or it would if she weren't preoccupied. She steps aside only after pleading with Mukuro to be careful.

By the time Mukuro is done, the tusked demon has blown enough steam to melt the ice. Mukuro brings in several others to drag him out by the ankles.

Yukina knows she'll never see him again.

* * *

Mukuro keeps Yukina close while the centipede rolls to wherever it is she wanted to take her. "You know what they think," Yukina says. "I can stay in my room—"

"You will stay where you are." Mukuro's voice makes it clear this isn't a day to do more than nod.

As soon as the fortress stops, they exit, earning whispers from those they pass. Most weather has little effect on Yukina, but the dry heat outside seems to melt and evaporate her at once, making her drag her feet. Mukuro has to walk so slowly to match her that Yukina can almost hear her joints creak. Sometimes she shoots ahead, her energy flaring, and Yukina lets the temperature around her drop as she runs to catch up. The resulting breeze seems to pull Mukuro back from whatever fog tugged her, and she stops to wait for Yukina, her hand over the bump just below her scarf.

The air moistens as they approach a stream. At first the plateaus looked like any other, but now Yukina realizes this is the path she first traveled upon arriving in Demon World.

"So this is where you were ambushed?" The question jars Yukina. Neither of them spoke on the walk, and she's surprised Mukuro is only now interrogating her.

"Yes. They had Hiei against that rock face—" Her mouth clamps shut. Mukuro's quirks.

"This is why I'm asking you. Especially since half of my monitors were blown out at the time."

Wary of explaining Hiei's weaknesses in the open, Yukina suggests telepathy, transmitting the scene to Mukuro. Mukuro's face is impassive, and she closes the connection as soon as Yukina is done.

"You did well," Mukuro says. "Earlier, too—you would have escaped that pig without me. As for now, this fills in a few gaps of our investigation. It's not like Hiei left much of them to identify." With her toe she nudges a bit of metal plate that was heavy enough to sink into the dirt. After the morning she had, recalling the scene left Yukina light-headed; seeing the plate triggers the memories more acutely, making her knees give way. Mukuro catches her with one arm. Through the sleeve Yukina can feel that it's the mechanical one and tries to straighten.

"Either side of me is strong enough to bear your weight, you know." Though Yukina feels she's burdened Mukuro enough, she goes limp to avoid insulting her pride. The metal cutting into her shoulder shakes the last of the memories away just before the stench of Mukuro's breath brings them back.

 _Wait. It's the same…?_

"They ate humans," Yukina says. "Those demons." She'd been too focused on defending herself to notice, but inhaling the same smell here confirms it.

"I forgot to pack my breath mints, did I?"

"No, I…"

"I'm teasing. So? What can we conclude from that?"

It's an obvious test. Yukina weighs her words. "Nothing certain, but it supports the idea that they worked for human traffickers."

Shadowing Mukuro has told Yukina more than anyone will directly. The assumption is that the attacks on the monitoring technology and on one of Mukuro's strongest fighters coincided so that demons could conduct illegal activity between the worlds. Humans are in high demand—the current ruler was devoted to Urameshi's ancestor, and in his honor banned killing humans for food. Only the recently deceased whose spirits agree to the purpose are to be eaten.

However, complaints about stringy, tough corpses birthed an underground market of humans raised for flavor. Yukina imagines dozens of humans herded into cages like the one where a few of them once held her, and Mukuro's grip on her tightens as she shivers.

"What can I do?" Yukina asks. Once the humans are freed, her powers and words can heal them, but that does nothing now. "If they kidnapped humans while everyone was distracted, we're going to save them, aren't we?"

"In due time. The enemy's strength is preparation; we'd be fools to rush in. Don't worry, they won't slaughter anyone until they're good and fat. At least a few years, if they want to fetch a high price for marbling."

"But in the meantime, they're still—!"

Mukuro squeezes Yukina, who cuts off her protest. Before she might have doubted Mukuro's conviction to saving human livestock, but not since she's seen the imprints on her wrists.

* * *

As soon as Natsume is available, Yukina resumes training. With more at stake now than a silly bet, she can't afford to slack—but before they finish, Natsume halts, motioning for Yukina to kneel and handing her a flask. Yukina takes it, confused. Natsume's training style allows for few breaks.

Yukina sips the liquid, scrunching her face at its burn. If she didn't know better, she'd think Natsume chuckles. "Don't go overboard. The oaf I got it from has strong taste, but it does the trick now and then."

She settles behind Yukina, touching her neck. "I'm just fixing your hair," she says when Yukina jumps. Wondering if she really seems that disheveled, Yukina sits still. If she closes her eyes, it's like Shizuru is the one behind her, braiding her hair as she often did to relax.

"You've been working hard, but it does no good if you can't collect yourself," Natsume says. Yukina's eyes fly open. Natsume has never acknowledged her feeble efforts.

Once Natsume is done, Yukina feels behind her head and finds a plush ribbon above her new braid. "Nobody besides me wears one like it around here," Natsume says, settling in front of Yukina. "It should reinforce that you're not someone to mess with."

So that's what this is about. "I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean to drag anyone into—"

"If you want to be polite, I'll accept a thanks. But believe me, nobody was sad to see that pig go."

Yukina sniffs the drink. "Thank you, then."

"You know, your people hid from battle, but ice is a dangerous element when honed. Decades ago my brother fought an ice apparition, and he still talks about it."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, we're twins. He can be conceited, but at least he's an honorable fighter. Why?"

In lieu of answering, Yukina takes a swig from the flask.

* * *

Mukuro works harder than ever to confirm their theory—eating humans does not necessarily mean a demon kidnaps them, as she points out more than once. Yukina nods each time. She follows as readily as Mukuro's shadow through the investigation, relieved whenever it takes them outside. It happens less often than she'd like, as Mukuro is preoccupied with internal problems.

"My monitors went blank because the cameras were attacked—there's no doubt about that," she says. Not just the cameras, Yukina thinks; some have been hidden around Demon World, but others are attached to patrols, especially flying demons.

"But hardware threw a hissy fit on our end, too," Mukuro continues. "That suggests either a coincidence or an inside job, and I'm not foolish enough to hand wave it. So how does a spy allude detection by Demon World's best telepath?" Her hand comes crashing down on the table. Yukina rearranges the papers displaced by it.

"You were a king for a long time. Didn't any spies ever make it into your court?"

Mukuro snorts. "Of course. One of them's still my right-hand man. Tells you how closely I kept my eye on them."

Yukina almost chokes on a slice of pickled daikon. She's been preparing dishes she can carry around and eat easily; she craves the chance to nurse a bowl of stew.

A few days later, a patrol demon bursts in unannounced, his smug grin revealing a gold tooth. "We caught a little birdie flying in through the border. Sure didn't look like a demon or a human to us, and she tried to flit away from our questioning."

Mukuro brushes past the demon, responding to his request for a reward with a short _don't get ahead of yourself._ She stops in the doorway, crossing her arms. Yukina can't see past her, but she recognizes the yelling well enough.

"If you don't let go of me, whoever is in charge of your afterlife journey is going to hear about it, I promise you that!"

Mukuro lifts her elbow to let Yukina squeeze through. Paying no mind to the demon gripping Botan's arms, she throws herself around Botan's neck while her old friend squeals in delight.

It takes a minute and Mukuro's strength to untangle the ensuing confusion. Yukina folds her hands sheepishly. Usually her greetings are more polite, but shock overcame her. The demon lets go of Botan, though she's flanked closely, and she and Yukina both earn suspicious glances. Botan brushes off her sleeve.

"A fine welcome this is! I passed through legally and have caused no trouble. What kind of operation are you running?"

"A tight one," Mukuro says. "We'll release you sooner if you stop squealing and state your business."

"Squealing? I'm being perfectly…"

Mukuro bares a set of fangs, and Botan shrinks back. "Mukuro, I'm sure Botan doesn't mean any harm," Yukina cuts in. "Can't she explain better if we give her some space?"

Despite wordless grumbling—Yukina doubts that Mukuro actually thought Botan a threat, rather than someone to mess with—Mukuro backs off.

"I'm just here for Yukina," Botan says.

"Is she dead?"

"Wh—? No! I mean, I'm here to visit her."

"You are?" Yukina breathes. She wouldn't have imagined someone flying two worlds away just to see her.

Mukuro turns to the demon with the gold tooth. "I believe you mentioned a reward for bagging a harmless ferry girl?" While the demon sputters excuses, Botan slips away to hide behind Yukina. She's still trying to make herself compact enough when Mukuro turns back to them. "As for you, this put us behind schedule. You realize you stick out; if you'd like to avoid further misunderstandings, you'll do me a few favors. Report to me after you two are finished."

Botan looks ready to snap back. Knowing nothing good can come of arguing with Mukuro, Yukina touches Botan's arm, and luckily she puts off retorts in favor of following Yukina to her room.

As soon as they enter, she pulls Yukina into a hug. The scent of incense brings back memories as Yukina drops her nose over Botan's shoulder. "How have you been?" Botan asks, backing away just enough to cup Yukina's face. "Look at you—your cheekbones are as sharp as my wardrobe. Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy to see you."

Even to an ice demon the hands that guide the dead feel cold. Regardless Yukina is warm enough to burst, overwhelmed by the return of birdsong in the midst of a long winter.

"I'm happy to see you, too." She glances around her room, glad that she thought to put up curtains. "I'm sorry about Mukuro."

"It's fine. I've already gotten over—okay, seriously, how can she order me to report anywhere? She's not my boss!"

Yukina hides a smile. "She probably wants you to help patrol from the air. Be careful if you do—the patrols were targeted recently."

"Don't worry about little old me. I doubt anyone will associate me with her," Botan says, flapping a sleeve. The pink kimono is partially disguised by a cape Yukina vaguely recognizes from an old cartoon.

"I'm sure she won't actually make you do it. But if you did, you could stay here for a little while."

"Now there's a cheery thought. What do you say we round up a pack of drinks and have a slumber party for old times' sake?"

Rounding up anything is easier said than done, let alone all of the games the group used to play, but Botan has practice at bringing cheer to drab situations, and Yukina floats through the evening.

* * *

After Yukina makes Botan breakfast, Mukuro appears in the kitchen alcove and tosses a video camera to Botan. Having never learned to like machines that capture her image, Yukina flinches while Botan inspects it with a whistle.

"Change into something that stands out less and fly around for a while," Mukuro orders. "Your route should be recorded on it already."

"What are you offering for this? Ferry girls don't get paid vacation days, you know."

"I'm giving you board. This is a special, special privilege," Mukuro says. Yukina dips her head down, cleaning the remains from the fire. "But if you don't want to, why don't you tell us why you're really here?"

Yukina has learned the tone Mukuro takes when she already knows an answer. Botan pales. "I—I already told you. I'm here to…"

"Yes, but why now? You must have learned about Yukina's situation somehow."

A squeak punctuates Botan's laugh."I'm from Spirit 're not the only one with fancy surveillance." Mukuro doesn't respond, leaving with the air of someone who's won what they were after.

She has. Having secrets kept from her raises Yukina's hackles. "What did she mean?"

"What did who mean? Oh, that? It's nothing, really. She was just trying to scare me into working for her."

Yukina takes Botan's cup and bowl to wash in a small tub of hot water. "You don't have to lie. Even by demon terms I'm not a child anymore. My feelings won't be hurt if you're here for something besides me."

"But I am here for you. And, well, maybe for me. It's been lonely, taking our friends over and then going back to the daily grind. Besides, I was worried about you, especially after Hiei—"

The top of the water ices over as Botan slaps her hands over her mouth. Yukina taps the film with a nail, cracking it to free the dishes. "So that's where he went. I hope he didn't give you much trouble."

"Not exactly. Lord Koenma had to deal with that particular headache." Botan winces. Yukina makes a mental note to trap Hiei for a while upon his return.

"What did he want?"

A puff like Shizuru's smoke plumes from Botan's mouth. Having seen the way Botan huddles around fires, Yukina tries to rein in her power. "He…he wanted us to bring them back," Botan says.

The ice reclaims the cup. Yukina scrapes around it, drawing meaningless patterns. "Oh."

"I would have if I could. It's just, their souls already moved past our jurisdiction. We can't—"

"You don't have to explain, Botan. I understand."

With her frozen hands she reaches out to cover Botan's. Botan holds them to her cheeks and cries. The tears solidify around Yukina's fingers, not forming spheres but rather tiny icicles clinging to her skin.

Hiei must have known, but he's never been one to acknowledge limitations. Fire melts the tears framing Yukina's knuckles.

 _…In exchange, you try to make me happy._

So this was his solution to her challenge. To travel dimensions away from her and demand that the dead take his place. If she were someone else, she might have laughed or cried, but she only squeezes Botan's hands.


	5. The Mortal Flame

Yukina takes her time warming the water and cleaning Botan's face. After Yukina explains the situation, Botan wastes no more time in flying off to perform surveillance, promising to use her full bag of tricks. Yukina watches her go, a dab of cotton candy against a smoky sky, until she dissolves into it.

She expects to report to Mukuro, but she appears at Yukina's door just as she's finished making the bed. Mukuro's shoulders fill the frame when she leans, not responding to Yukina's invitation.

"You miss them," Mukuro says. Yukina doesn't even nod, waiting to see where this is going. "I don't know what that's like. Before Hiei, I wasn't attached to anybody. You're both younger than me, so unless you get yourself killed, I'll never have to mourn."

She shakes hair from over her eye as she straightens. "Just because you're not a fighter doesn't mean you can slack in your training," she concludes. "I've prepared an isolated room. Regaining full control over your powers will be your first task." She leaves before Yukina can do more than bow.

* * *

The remnants of ice and char in the kitchen prove Mukuro right. Yukina hates to seclude herself now, but this is all she can do for her part.

Only lanterns light the chamber, emptied of all but plain mats that hold the scent of its usual contents: blood, bones, metal. Mirrors line the walls, presumably to correct fighters' forms. Yukina kneels, closing her eyes to shut out the sight of herself reflected from all sides. Emptying her mind proves more difficult now that Botan has appeared; she envisions bubblegum being wrapped up and tucked away for later.

Once she's focused, she coats the room in a thin sheet of ice, then warms it. One of the sheets separates from the wall and crashes to the ground, spraying shards across the floor. The rest melts, dousing the lanterns and leaving Yukina sitting in the center of a ring of water.

This part requires her to dig deeper. Genkai taught her to take it a step further and evaporate the water, saying that having full control over the moisture around her was key to wielding her powers. But once she's made herself a vessel for ice, generating heat takes all the more work.

Several attempts later, she's created only fizzles of steam, and the floor around the mats is still damp. She sighs and begins again.

* * *

Long after her belly aches enough to disrupt her focus, she exits on stiff legs. No part of Mukuro's building is lit brightly enough to wash out color, but Yukina squints in what feels like blinding sunshine until she adjusts. She finds Mukuro and Botan in the entryway, a few muttering employees around the outskirts.

"Ah, you're finished," Mukuro says. "If you'd stayed another week, I was going to check that you hadn't passed out."

"Week?" Yukina places a hand over her stomach, and Mukuro tosses her a bar made from some dried root that tastes like dirt. Yukina is glad that the toughness gives her an excuse to tear her fangs into it.

"You're just in time to celebrate the victory of yours truly," Botan says. Mukuro shakes her head.

"She made quite a scene, bursting in here yelling, 'bingo.' But if she worked here, I suppose I'd owe her a raise." The grumbles from the outskirts intensify.

"You're not paying me for this in the first place!"

"Of course I am. Thanks to your efforts, I don't get to learn what ferry girls taste like." Mukuro pokes at her teeth as if picking out someone's remains, and Yukina steps forward so that they're both within reach.

"Mukuro, you don't need to tease her like that. What did you find, Botan?"

"The culprit, of course. I thought the way the monitors went out was rather odd, you know. It seemed like some sort of interference made them burst. I've seen items overload like that before, when Yusuke—"

Mukuro coughs. "I'm getting to the point!" Botan says. "Anyway, it turns out a trader was using their cover to travel around with devices that interfere with technology. I discovered it while flying around. My camera gave off sparks, so I zoomed lower and found the rascal readying an attack. Thankfully I made a quick get away, though they singed the bottom of my hair—please don't eat me, I'm done and ferry girls taste like ash."

"Wait, was this the trader that sold you the book you gave me?" Yukina asks Mukuro.

"Yes, though at the time I was only purchasing it as a collectible. They needed to hawk something impressive enough to hang around here. I can't believe I didn't notice."

The demons take another step back. Yukina can imagine how something from the Glacial Village would pique Mukuro's interest enough to distract her.

From there, Mukuro says, she brought the trader in and gave him the choice of surrendering his knowledge to her or a torture chamber. She didn't get far before the trader dropped dead—nobody gives Yukina the details, which this time she doesn't mind, as having only the root bar in her stomach makes her queasy enough. However, Mukuro got confirmation of their theory about the attackers' goal and enough direction for Hiei's Jagan to locate the rest.

"Wait," Yukina says. "So we'll know where the humans are being kept soon?"

"Yes, it shouldn't take him long. Of course, we need a little more preparation than that before we can set out, but that's being taken care of as we speak."

* * *

As pressing as it all is, there isn't anything for Yukina to do yet, so she has a proper meal and a restless sleep before returning to her training. This time she wields better control over the room's temperature. While evaporating the water she thinks about the captive humans, and she feels as if her fingertips are scorched. However, when she opens her eyes they look as smooth as ever, with only a wisp of steam drifting away.

For now she acknowledges it as her limit and moves on to practicing other techniques. It strikes her how much of it is focused on defending herself, on boxing herself in. Like her people, huddled to keep any threat away, never reaching out to lend others the same.

When she emerges this time, she prepares herself a quick meal, then enters the entryway to find it a buzz of activity. She steps to the side, pressing against a wall as a demon passes carrying a rack of weapons. Scanning the room reveals only vaguely familiar faces. She's about to brave the crowd when someone runs up the tongue-ramp and yells, "Raizen's son is outside!"

The hissing, grumbling, and clicking quiet as if a blanket muffles them. A dry wind carries in a call: "Hiei, get your ass out here, I need to kick it."

Urameshi's voice jolts Yukina, as if she's been dreaming and woke suddenly to her life in Human World. But her back rests against the centipede's flesh, and Mukuro appears, arms folded. If she weren't nodding at the blur passing through, Yukina might not have noticed; she didn't even realized he'd returned. The demons file outside to watch. Mukuro stands beside Yukina.

"I don't think they've fought in decades. It will be interesting to see who wins," Mukuro says. Yukina gets the sense she wants to watch, but is opting to stay by her, who Mukuro must know doesn't.

Soon enough the workers run back in, Hiei not far behind, his headband ripped off and his bare torso covered in bruises. Mukuro studies him. "He kicked your ass," she says.

"Shut up."

Despite her nausea, Yukina can't help but think Hiei looks more satisfied than she can remember seeing him. The sound of blood dripping onto the floor renders the thought irrelevant. She runs to him before she remembers his warnings, though before she can do anything, Urameshi enters with a groan.

"Man, I didn't know I had that muscle to pull," he says, rolling his shoulder, which pops in a way Yukina doesn't think it's supposed to. Seeming unconcerned, he slings an arm around Hiei, who neither reciprocates nor pulls away. Urameshi's hair has grown to swish about his neck, but his grin is the same as ever. It drops in surprise when he sees her. "Yukina! I didn't know you were here."

Though this time she remembers courtesy, she's joyous. The stench sobering her, she ushers him and Hiei into a private room to examine their wounds, though Hiei insists his are nothing and Urameshi claims that healing so soon will kill his 'post-battle high.'

"It's like getting your teeth numbed at the dentist. And that vibratey thing they use," he says. "And then somehow it hurts more in the end."

Yukina's patience unravels. "If you decide you'd like to keep the rest of your blood, you know who to come to."

"Hanging around here has taught you how to sass back, huh?" He grins at Hiei, who looks away.

"I have work to be doing. We'll finish this later, Yusuke." Hiei disappears, and Urameshi rolls his eyes, muttering about sore losers.

"So, uh, Yukina, I haven't seen you since…" He scratches his neck where the ends of his hair must tickle. "How've you been?"

It's not a question Yukina's prepared to answer. She talks instead in non-committal terms about what she's been doing, how Mukuro was kind enough to take her in. "What about you?"

"Training, mostly."

Yukina envies him in that moment, despite how she hates violence. Something feels simple about the life of a fighter, like being displaced wouldn't matter if you were just going to challenge your body to do the same things.

A cry of _Yusuke!_ interrupts her brooding as Botan flies in and spins Urameshi around so many times that Yukina gets dizzy.

"Botan! What are you doing here—Botan, I can't breathe—"

"What are _you_ doing here? Where have you been, you never send word—"

"Excuse me for not knowing Spirit World's mailing address!"

"At least it means you haven't died in a while. Oh good heavens, _Yusuke_."

Yukina watches silently, wondering if this was what it looked like when she first saw Botan but finding it hard to believe.

A quiet voice somehow overtakes their chatter. "It seems I'm just in time for the reunion…?"

Roses perfume the room before Yukina can turn her head. Kurama stands in the doorway, unmistakable though not quite recognizable. Strands of the red and silver from his past swirl together into an otherwise orange ponytail that falls just between his shoulder blades. His new skin appears as smooth as a baby's, though he has a young adolescent's height.

As friendly as he is, Kurama is not the type to feed outbursts, so their exclamations quickly calm. Urameshi claps his shoulder, sweeping his gaze over him. "Looking good, Gramps."

"I'll have you know this form is not even a year old, and you are therefore regrettably an adult by comparison."

"You're rather mature for a baby," Botan teases, poking his cheek. Kurama twitches.

"Lord Koenma's assistant would know, I suppose." His attention turns to Yukina, gold-green eyes softening. "You've grown," he murmurs.

A lump like a snowball lodges in her throat. Only vibrations tell her that she's exchanging pleasantries with him—she's so full of love for her friends that she melts of it, like Mukuro's monitors short-circuiting, and she can't tell whether happiness or grief leads her to cry against Kurama, only that hands that are halfway to claws stroke her hair and back. She almost expects to be back in the forest near Kuwabara's wake, as if this was supposed to happen back then. But Kurama passes her over to Botan, and Urameshi still smells of blood, though with three healers now in the room he can't escape having his injuries tended to.

Once they've all settled down and Yukina is collecting the remaining evidence of her tears with a shame she can't shake, Botan asks Kurama what brought him there.

"Mukuro called upon me for help with a mission. She said it was short-sighted to rely on only one sense for tracking."

"Glad to have you on board, then, Mr. Fox," Urameshi says. "So, uh, what's our mission?"

Botan throws up a hand. "He signs up before he knows what's going on. Wait, you don't know what's going on? Why are you here now, then?"

"I just wanted to kick Hiei's ass."

"In other words, you only showed up at a useful time by accident," Kurama says.

Now that she's released some of her built-up emotion, Yukina would like to stay and soak in the banter, the things that haven't changed. But Urameshi's bandages remind her there's still one set of injuries unaccounted for, and while she's wary of poking at raw wounds, she knows that once they all set out she'll miss her chance.

* * *

She finds Hiei with Mukuro and hovers in the doorway. Cutting off a sentence about Urameshi, Mukuro cocks her head at Yukina, who brings a hand to her chest.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to speak with Hiei…"

She hates how timid she feels after spending so much time beside Mukuro. But it's not her, of course—Hiei is staring at some point on the wall, not acknowledging her request. Mukuro turns away from him, and he appears beside Yukina, who knows better than to seek verbal confirmation before exiting.

It's difficult to find any privacy among the bustle, so she ends up leading Hiei to the isolated training chamber. Thanks to her the room smells of mildew along with its buried scents. The muggy air makes her clothes cling to her skin. She hadn't considered that it would be pitch black, but now that he's willingly trapped himself in with her she doesn't want to waste the opportunity. All she sees is the thin outline of his aura, tracing the shape of a flame around his hair.

"I heard what you did," she starts.

"Botan blabbed."

"Not exactly. Please don't give her trouble. She was going to keep quiet, but I wanted someone to tell me what was going on."

Muffled sounds tell her that he's shifting a torn bandage to lick a wound. "What is there to tell? I failed. Is that what you wanted to hear? That I lost our little bet?"

Her fingers clench. She hadn't realized how angry she was, but it hits her as she answers, her voice going lower and lower. "If you lost, it's only because you have yet to try."

"I _faced death_."

"You ran away. I had no idea where you were. Mukuro only stayed calm because I was with her. You had to have known that it wouldn't work, that they're—they're too…"

For the second time that day, tears sting her eyes. She squeezes them shut. It's something she hasn't wanted to admit either, that even if she keeps that suitcase unpacked she still won't be able to travel back home.

"What else was I supposed to do?" His voice is lower than hers until it's not, a sudden bark. "You're not the only one who…"

She can imagine him snapping his mouth shut, but it's already out there. It softens her anger enough for her to smooth her tone, knowing she's the only one who might. "I know. I'm sorry. I'd have done anything to get them back, too."

There's a period of almost-silence, the wet noise of his lapping. "You know, it's one thing to take revenge for fallen teammates, but humans don't even have the decency to go out fighting. Yusuke wasn't the same until just now, either, and I thought he'd never change." He spits.

"Then isn't that all the more reason for us to stay together?"

"It won't work," he says. "I can't be what you want."

"How do you know what I want?"

"You chose to live with kind-hearted humans, and you sought your brother because you thought he'd kill your people for you."

With guilt she remembers admitting the latter, back before she considered that the child abandoned by their people might pity them more than she did. Was that why he wouldn't acknowledge her?

No—he had ample chance before that. The time for excuses is gone.

"I'm not asking you to change," she says. "Just…just be with me, sometimes, please? Sit with me while I eat again, or go on walks with me—is that really so bad?"

The Jagan glows in a slow blink, telling her he's studying her. "Why do you want me to do this? You have your friends back."

"For now. And I'm grateful, but I know better than to think it will last."

"And you think I will?"

"You're my twin."

"And?"

Yukina is so taken aback that she steps away from him. She's voiced what they were too scared to for decades, and that's all he can say?

His energy flickers, bouncing light off of the mirrors surrounding them and giving her a brief look at his wide eyes. Even without it, the disruption in his energy and the smell of sweat would have given him away. He can't use the dark to hide from her, his reflection.

When she steps forward, her foot slips on ice. Confused, she steadies herself. She would know if she'd created it, not that she could now; she can feel something pulsating in her, expanding.

Hiei has pulled his energy in. It disappears entirely for a moment, then blinks turquoise. Water soaks through to Yukina's toe—the ice melting at her feet.

The air around Hiei seizes up. Yukina spreads it, forces gaps between the particles, spins them into a frenzy.

"Stay away," he warns in a low growl. The part of her that's unchanged doesn't want to corner and threaten him, but another part glows orange.

"I will if you'll answer me properly."

"This is pointless."

The orange turns a deep red, flaring from her hands and arms. It pools at her fingertips, burning them. She grits her teeth through the pain, wondering if this is what it's always like for him before remembering this is a candle compared to his dragon.

"Being with people you care about isn't pointless. Or did you protect me all those times for no reason?"

"That's not—I can _do_ protection," he says.

Fighting trained killers is easier than spending time with her. It's a wonder she doesn't melt.

She isn't sure which is the final log that feeds the fire. Maybe it's the fact that he promised to try, yet he disregards her simplest request. Maybe it's her shame that her only family can't stand to be near her (yet she's here, pushing him). Maybe it's still that she was never given the tools for war, and he was never given the tools for love, and their differences should make up the gaps but instead leave them both floundering.

Whatever it is, the heat at her fingertips feeds off of it, calling on outside help to do what she cannot. A screech like a hawk fills her ears. She claps her free hand over one to no avail. Red flickers at her fingertips and orange coils in from the ceiling, meeting in a blaze that flares up. Behind it, Hiei's pupils are barely dots.

When she realizes what she's done, Yukina panics. "How…how do I turn it off?"

The answer is that she doesn't: it falls from her fingertips, swooping across the room to crash into a mirror, half-melting the glass before falling into little more than a collection of embers on the ground.

Yukina stares at it before turning back to Hiei, swallowing. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me—I said I didn't want to change you, and then I started pressuring you, and…"

A howling laugh interrupts her. "You summoned the _mortal flame,_ " he says. "From _Demon World_. That's brilliant. Wait until I tell Mukuro."

The icy air around him has retreated. In her relief she clasps her hands, then pulls them apart with a gasp. The swollen tips of her left fingers don't hurt as much as the torture she once endured, but the pain still makes her bite down on her tongue.

Sobering, he holds out his own hand. "Let me see."

She offers herself for inspection, and he cradles her fingers, making her bite harder. Her fingers lay stiffly across his; she can't bend her top knuckles.

"You're lucky that it was only your fingers," he says once he lets go. "You don't want to lose your arm, trust me." Despite his torn bandages, the dragon lies still; her mortal flames don't seem to have impressed it. "At least we've finally found something I can do for you. Do you want to learn how to control that?"

"Yes." Despite the pain, she answers without hesitation. This is what she's been yearning for—a way to push forward and protect others.

"It won't be easy." He holds up his right arm, clenching his fist, and the dragon slithers around his muscles as if hoarding them.

"I've been through hardship before. Besides, I've asked you to do things that aren't easy."

"If you're serious about this, we're not leaving this room until you've grasped at least one attack."

"That sounds—wait! The humans. Everyone is—"

"A group of capable fighters is assembling to rescue them. You won't count among their ranks until we do this."

She can't disagree. She thinks instead about what Hiei is offering her, how he's suffered, what she still plans to ask him for, and what she can possibly do in return if he won't let her near his wounds. Again she feels her wet socks.

"You could learn to harness that ice, you know," she says. "I've heard it's a dangerous element when its wielders aren't isolating themselves."

"I'll think about it," he says.


	6. Her Stand

Yukina bites the inside of her mouth while Hiei bandages her fingers. For all her pain tolerance, she underestimated how grueling this would be—but it's done, and she doesn't want him to know. He kept hesitating during training as it was.

Light streams in through the holes in the ceiling. Chunk of the mirrors have melted, revealing the centipede's raw flesh behind them. Yukina toes a singed mat. "Um, how do you think I should make the damage up to Mukuro?"

"Her goons will fix it. Fighters have done worse to this place while training, believe me."

That just makes her feel bad for the workers, but she's too drained to think about it. As soon as Hiei releases her, she sags against him. "Sorry," she mumbles when he tenses.

"Go to bed," he says.

When they exit the chamber, Yukina's ringing ears prevent her from noticing how quiet it is until they traverse empty halls. "Where is everyone?"

"At their stations, if they know what's good for them. Nobody can afford to mess around when Mukuro's away, though they're probably taking advantage of it to slack off."

Yukina halts. "Away?"

"Rescuing those humans. What, did you think they would wait for us?"

"No, but…do you think they're all right?"

"They'll be fine. The enemy's main strength is preparation, and there's no way they have Kurama beat there. And if Mukuro is as angry as I think she is, their strongest fighter won't stand a chance. Yusuke is just overkill."

Yukina's teeth worry at her lip. She believes in her friends, but gaining new powers does nothing if she's too far away to use them. Blankly Hiei examines his wrists, and it hits her that he never intended for them to be involved—might have even kept her from it on purpose. It makes her want to go whether she's needed or not.

"You're fast enough to catch up to them, right?" she asks.

"Why bother? Like I said, they have enough fighters already."

"Fighting isn't the only needed skill. Those humans will be battered and confused; I can help them. Please, Hiei."

He's moved on to studying his palms, which his fingers press into. "I'm not putting you in danger for a bunch of humans."

The way he spits the word, after what he'd so recently done and admitted, makes her jaw clench. "Then you don't have to. I'll go alone."

"You can't go by yourself! You don't even know where they are."

"I may not have your eye, but I've been following Mukuro's investigation. Besides, I always used to travel on my own."

She starts down the corridor, leaving him sputtering. When she reaches the intersection he appears in front of her, a hand on his sword. For a horrible moment she wonders exactly how far he'd go to protect her, but he only bows his head and lowers his knee in a display reminiscent of fealty.

"You're so stubborn you'd think we were related," he says. "Come on; you'd never make it in time."

She's relieved her gamble worked. It would have surprised her if he'd let her go without watching over her, but she wouldn't have been surprised if it had been from a distance, and it's a comfort to have his speed and sword at her side.

'At her side' is not quite right, she realizes when he doesn't rise. Putting a hand to her cheek with a soft _oh,_ she hurries behind him and bends to wrap her arms around his neck. He lifts her slowly, his tension obvious this close. Once she's situated against his back, her feet dangling, he shoots off without warning, peeling any thoughts from her mind other than to hold on tight.

* * *

They may as well be flying. Her stomach drops out every time he leaps into a tree or up a cliff side. She tries to keep some semblance of distance for his comfort's sake, but the wind batters her cheeks, forcing her to bury her face in his hair. It's scratchy, like goat fur, and smells of iris soap that Kurama must have given him.

At first Yukina grips Hiei's scarf. When it starts to loosen, she clasps her hands below it, wincing from her burned fingers. She has to settle for clutching at his shirt with her good hand, hooking the other one under her wrist. It finds the bump of a gemstone at the end of a chain, which she knew—they've admitted—would be there, though it makes the trip all the more dizzying.

Jumps up are one thing, but after a steep drop off of a branch, Yukina has to call for Hiei to stop so she won't vomit on his head. While she's sick in a bush, he keeps watch for enemies. Despite her urgency she doesn't rise right away, hugging her knees.

"Are we far?"

"No," he answers. "They're being slow enough that we might actually make it in time."

"What's happening? You've been watching, right?"

"Mukuro is meeting with the head of the group that organized this."

"Meeting?" Yukina frowns. While she didn't like it, she'd pictured something more brutal.

"Kurama's plan, no doubt. They're being roundabout to reduce the risk of humans getting caught in the crossfire."

"So what are they doing? Giving them the chance to surrender?"

Hiei snorts. "Nobody would agree to that. She's pretending she wants to buy the humans."

"What?!"

As Hiei explains, thanks to Mukuro's reputation it's a believable story. Kurama and Urameshi are another matter, so they're hiding in case the situation escalates. In the best-case scenario, Mukuro could buy the humans out of harm's way before everyone enters to arrest the demons.

Yukina stands to pace the clearing, breathing in the scents of fungus and moss. The training chamber felt even more cramped than the rest of the fortress, but she has no time to take in this freedom when others are in chains. Still dizzy, she climbs back onto Hiei, bracing herself for another flight.

* * *

The second time Hiei sets Yukina down, she manages not to get sick, if only because her stomach's empty. While she gets her bearings she clings to his sleeve, peeking over the boulder he settled behind into the valley below. She doesn't know what she expects; an industrial prison complex, maybe, or a huge factory farm. What she finds is a small mobile building. It's shaped like a cockroach, and the sight of it makes Yukina feel a thousand bugs crawl over her skin.

"What's going on down there?" she whispers.

"Mukuro's convinced them to show her the humans. She's making quite the show of salivating over them." Act or not, Yukina shudders, tugging at the coat she hadn't realized her fingers were still hooked in. She lets go.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Botan's with her in disguise, no doubt to snoop around. It's going to come down to a fight—I can't imagine they don't smell a rat, considering they sabotaged Mukuro in the first place."

"Then Botan's in danger!"

"Kurama and Yusuke aren't far. Though either way, Mukuro could—damn."

"What? What's wrong?"

He drops back to one knee. "They smelled a rat. Come on; even if we don't get involved, they'll find us out here soon."

* * *

A hatch hangs open on the cockroach's underbelly, the handle attached to the ground with a vine. Urameshi's signature is less subtle: distant yelling that reverberates through the shoot as the twins climb up through, making the metal vibrate under Yukina's knees.

They emerge in a refrigerated storeroom. The scent of raw meat makes Yukina's empty stomach revolt. "They haven't already…?"

"To fatten up the humans," Hiei says. _We're not too late_ , Yukina reminds herself. Even if it won't accomplish anything, she heats the room before following him out.

The hallway takes them closer to Urameshi's battle cries before forking. Hiei chooses the path down which those sounds dim, only to reveal another set: Mukuro's. Yukina barely registers the guards that come up behind them before the bodies hit the ground with a thud. She stares at them, mentally catching up, until Hiei takes her wrist.

He handles the next set of obstacles just as quickly, not lingering long enough for Yukina to see if he's killing them or just knocking them out. She doesn't think she wants to know.

A chorus of cries reaches her, hastening her steps until the guards thicken both in groupings and girth. Their size only makes them fall harder, but even Hiei can't defeat them all before Yukina has to get involved. The flame inside her roars, and she tries to summon the creatures she learned to call. Her fingers only burn, the fire trapped below her skin.

She shuts down, throwing up a wall of ice that a fist breaks through. Thanks to the wall's deflection it misses her jaw, but it clips the side of her face, making her gasp. The guard yelps at the broken ice shards digging into his knuckles, drawing back for another hit as Yukina stumbles.

Hiei appears in front of her to cleave the guard's hand from his wrist, knocking him down with an uppercut. He kicks at the torso, readying a pummeling before Yukina grabs his arm.

"That's enough to get past," she says.

"Oh, I think he can take plenty more." The edge in his voice tells her that he'll only give up this revenge if she begs, and she doesn't have time to summon tears while innocents suffer. Instead she lets go of him and steps around the bodies, continuing down the hall at a run, her left hand clutching her cheek to numb the pain with the little energy she can spare for healing. The curses behind her confirm that he can't bear to let her go off alone.

Finally they reach a gate of rusted iron bars that twist up above them, which would slice their view of the scene in ribbons were it not for the door lying on the ground. Mukuro's power could have cut cleanly through the lock, but it's shattered into pieces. A few more guards are piled on either side. Beyond stands Mukuro, who's holding the last demon up by his collar. It's edged with gold thread, and he wears little armor, his status not protecting him from the blows that have already bruised and bloodied his face.

"You enslaved women on my watch," she's saying. "Do you seriously think I'm giving you the luxury of a trial before your death?"

"The…the last tournament winner outlawed executions for crimes without them. You—ugh!" Even before the punch the demon can only speak in a croak.

"Have some honor and fight instead of weaseling out," Hiei says, stepping forward with a hand on his sword.

"Wait." Yukina grabs his arm again, looking beseechingly toward Mukuro, whose back is to her. The scene is all too familiar, but she worries she can't stop her like she once stopped Hiei. "You'll both be punished!"

"I'd like to see someone try," Mukuro says. "Demon World's constant new laws aren't well enforced, as we can see." The man only coughs in reply before going limp in her clutch. She shakes him. "Passing out isn't going to save you! You've—"

A baby's cry interrupts. It tears Yukina's attention from Mukuro, prompting her to enter the enclosure. Her hand flies to her mouth.

More than a dozen humans are chained to the wall, all of them young enough that their skin must have been smooth before it was marked. Most of their limbs are bound; one young woman is tied by the waist to a chair, her arms cradling the crying baby, humming a harried lullaby to no avail.

Mukuro stands frozen. Yukina recalls one of the images from Mukuro's past and approaches her, Hiei reaching her side first. The message he thinks to her reaches Yukina as well, as if she's tied into their wavelength:

 _That one isn't like us._

Mukuro's gone grey again, Yukina can see up close. She uses the line that Hiei's tossed her to connect with Mukuro. _We're all okay. Isn't freeing these people our first priority?_

The mention stirs Mukuro, causing her to look toward the captives. The glaze over her eyes wavers, and she turns away again. _Someone else should do it. I don't think humans can handle the only method I know of breaking chains._

Hiei's consciousness laughs at some reference Yukina doesn't understand. Once it might have made her feel excluded, but at the moment that hardly matters.

"Here you all are!" Botan's voice snaps Yukina out of the connection. Urameshi enters along with her, his clothes ripped but his spirit looking no worse for wear.

"If you were gonna have a party, you should've invited us," he says.

Their tones jar Yukina. They say that Botan had to flee and hide after Mukuro started seeking justice, and Kurama is still sniffing around for anything they've missed. At Yukina's pleading, Mukuro throws the leader at Urameshi, who tosses him over his shoulder and leaves.

Botan has already run to the captives, who are watching the scene with a mix of baffled and blank stares as if not convinced it's real. Yukina remembers being in their position, closing herself off to endure the torture and then shutting out others' attempts to save her. Her arms slide up to hug herself, and she turns in search of Hiei's body heat.

He's at Mukuro's side, no doubt touching her mind. Her wrists hang in front of her as if glued together; Hiei takes her hand to pry them apart.

"That's done with," he murmurs.

"Just get me out of this hellhole," she says.

At the gate Hiei swivels his head as if taking in the room for the first time, his eyes landing on Yukina, who hasn't moved. She knows what he's just now realized: leaving with Mukuro means leaving Yukina alone with Botan, a non-fighter.

Desperately his consciousness searches her, and she packs down all misgivings, knowing what she has to do.

 _Go,_ she tells him. _She needs you. These people need me._

He looks lost, but he leaves, Mukuro's hand climbing up his back as they go.

* * *

With the battle settled, Yukina and Botan hurry to undo the humans' bonds and tend to their injuries. Other than bruises and chaffed skin, there are few physical wounds, considering their captors' investment in their bodies—but the few eyes that don't hold a familiar, glassy look are filled with fear.

After several humans break out of their shock, they start talking at once. A couple with the best grasp on the situation try to explain their escape attempts and how their hope had drained before the group arrived. One man asks why their captors wore such strange costumes. Another asks, repeatedly, if they're really here to rescue them. The girl beside him ignores their answers, making a run for it as soon as she thinks their backs are turned.

"Oh! Everyone, please, stay in here so we can protect you!" Yukina's plea falls on deaf ears. She has no choice but to throw up a wall of ice over the entrance, causing an uproar among the humans.

"What was that?"

"What are you?"

"Let us out!"

"Shut up!" a woman shouts loudly enough to cut through. "You're scaring my baby." The nearest teenagers crowd around, trying to soothe the baby as it wails. Botan joins in, making funny faces, but the mother shields it. Though her bonds have been broken, she hasn't risen from her chair.

Yukina steps carefully over, resisting the urge to touch people's arms and shoulders. "Everyone, please give her some space," she says, her quiet voice audible in the lull. She kneels beside the chair and nods to Botan, who returns to trying to explain the situation to the others.

"What's your baby's name?" Yukina asks. The woman stares. She's rocking back and forth in her chair now, trying to lull the baby as much as she can without moving her legs. "I'm Yukina," she tries again. "Would you tell me what to call you?"

She does not get far with the conversation, but with resistance she helps the woman stand, hovering by her while she paces her baby into hushed, hiccupping cries.

A crash sets the wails off again. Whirling toward the entrance, Yukina sees the guard she made Hiei spare. Purple blood drips from his arms onto the shards of ice that remain of her wall.

"This is the second time your ice has cut my knuckles, and thanks to your dog, this is the only set I have left," he says. "How are you going to make up for this, sweetheart?"

"Everyone, get back," Yukina says. The humans scamper to the far corner of the room. A few stand still, their lips parted, their limbs locked as if they've forgotten they can move them. Botan hustles them back while Yukina stands still in the center, shutting out the chaos behind her so she can concentrate.

If she throws him, he'll hit the humans; if she summons an icicle to stab into his belly, her trembling hands have little chance of succeeding before he smashes her. She needs the fire.

The demon stands without urgency, surveying his trapped prey. Fear dims the flame in her belly. Out of desperation she raises a wall behind her to shield the humans, then another in front of her, boxing her away from the demon to buy time.

It's only through the frosty lens that she sees a small, dark blur: the hair of the girl who'd tried to escape, hovering in the corner on the other side of the ice. Trapped.

Yukina gasps. She covers her mouth, flicking her eyes back to the demon, but it's too late. His chin is cocked toward the girl, yellow eyes staring down his nose. He smacks his lips.

"Aw, you see that? She wants us to be alone," he says. The girl darts, trying to slip between the demon and the barrier he broke through. A meaty claw grabs her forehead as Yukina shouts, throwing an icy gust against the wall in front of her. The wind corrodes it, dying out before it can break through to the other side.

 _Stop panicking, s_ he tells herself. _Concentrate._ But the more she shuts out, the frostier she becomes, an igloo sheltering the flame.

The girl struggles in the demon's grasp, silent but for a few gasps and grunts. "You aren't being very polite," the demon says. "Ignoring your host like this." He lifts her off the ground, her feet kicking. "I expect more from my guests."

He squeezes, and the girl releases a sound Yukina can only describe as a squawk. It triggers something in her: Toguro's long fingers, the birds, their dying peeps. The final straw of her torture, committed because she'd frosted over instead of giving in.

The demon's grip moves down to the girl's neck. Yukina erupts, lava-like energy pouring from her to shatter the ice, reducing it to water that pools on the ground.

She can't see the girl. Her spirit is in human world, where she was held captive herself, where the flames that beckon to her live. The room flashes as she calls to them, her heat making the air shimmer like a mirage. Their great wings stop railing against the barred windows, splintering into tiny, feathered balls that burn the talismans off, slipping through the gaps into the open air.

The demon is saying something. She doesn't hear him, a screech in her ears drowning out all else. The metal ceiling warps and melts, dripping behind her into the water as the beings she's learned to summon swoop down.

Birds the size of her fist flock to her outstretched fingers. They make trilling noises, fighting for a place to perch. The demon stares, then opens his mouth in what must be laughter, his tongue bouncing. One of the birds shoots straight out onto it, singing the roof of his mouth when it closes. His eyes open, and two more birds fly into them, pecking and clawing.

Yelling, he drops the girl to grab a bird in his fist. The fire burns the pad of his hand, forcing him to release it.

Gasping for breath, Yukina lowers her hand. The bandages around her fingers have burnt through, and the birds are no longer within her control. Luckily, that's a problem for the guard, who's swiping at the elusive targets with the grace of a cat chasing its tail. Tumbling, he crashes backward against the broken bars, hitting his head before falling to the ground. The sound of his skull cracking against metal makes Yukina cringe.

She watches to see if he'll move. He doesn't. The birds fizzle out into smoke that streaks up through the holes in the ceiling.

She feels Botan's arm around her before she's regained herself. "You did it, sweetie!"

"Don't call me that." Yukina's voice slices, razor sharp, before she can stop it. It breaks her out of her trance. "I mean, um, please…"

"Excuse me—that was a bang-up job, Yukina. Your brother will be proud." Botan's hands fly to her mouth. " _Would_ be proud! Um, ha…"

"It's okay, Botan. I know."

"Oh, good, or you would have just saved my otherwise clever mind for nothing. Well, at least you saved it! And everyone else…" Her voice trails off as she looks across the room. The humans are huddled together, staring between Yukina and the fallen demon with equal suspicion. The crying babe drowns out their whispers.

Yukina's exhaustion catches up as she tries and fails to straighten her back, hiding her burnt hand before Botan can worry. Summoning from another realm hasn't left her the strength to convince these people she's not a monster.

 _They're safe_ , she reminds herself. _That's what matters_.

Turning away from them, she spots the girl. She's leaning red-faced against the bars, gasping for breath. Yukina runs to her, stopping in front of the guard's body out of fear the girl will flee.

"Um, I know it may be hard to believe, but I'm a healer. If you'll let me look at—oh, I'm so sorry, if I'd realized you were over here…!"

"How did you do that?" the girl asks between huffs.

"Pardon?"

"That ice—and that _fire_ —were those birds? Can you make more?" The girl's smooth face stretches in awe. Yukina can't remember the last time she dipped her chin to look at someone, let alone received such a reaction.

"I could summon them again, but not so soon. It's very dangerous." Yukina holds out her charred fingers as proof. They're numb enough for now, though she'll pay for her actions soon.

Still rubbing her own bruised neck, the girl ignores her warning. "Can you teach me?"

"I'm sorry, but probably not. To use this sort of power, you have to be…"

"Inhuman?" Yukina swallows, but the girl's tone is matter of fact. "Oh, well." The momentary spark in the girl's eye fades. Yukina is wondering how to bring it back when a floral scent joins that of smoke.

Kurama's injuries are far from the worst she's seen on him. He nods at her, though it's clear he's taking in the situation. Having someone she admires study her handiwork makes her more bashful than the girl's admiration had.

"It seems you have everything under control. Hiei thought I should come, but…" He squats to study the guard's body.

"Is he… Did I…?"

Kurama smiles faintly. "Is that a question to which you really want the answer?"

She presses her lips together and shakes her head.

As he rises, he halts, his face ashen. Yukina follows his eyes to the back of the room, where the mother is still rocking her child.

"How is Mukuro?" Yukina asks softly.

"Ah… Hiei is with her. She's working out how to operate this place so she can drive us back to the border. It would be too dangerous to escort the humans on foot."

Yukina murmurs understanding, relaying it to Botan, who's returned to trying to cheer the humans. She isn't sure they'd believe the message from her now, but it doesn't matter. They're safe, and so are her friends, and so is she.

Her fingers burn, the second knuckles joining the first in their stiffness, and she hardly cares.


	7. Their Haven

Kurama mixes an herbal sedative for the humans on the way back to the fortress. Once there, Hiei starts the hypnosis to erase their memories, a standard procedure—but Kurama tells the others this with a slight frown.

"It's for the best that they forget everything, isn't it? The poor dears would be traumatized otherwise," Botan says.

"They may still be," Kurama says. "Their captivity has taken a toll on their minds and bodies. Usually the patrols find humans who simply fall into Demon World, and even then sometimes some of their memories are accidentally left intact. We should be able to keep Demon World secret, but I can't promise the humans will return unscathed."

He does promise to find and deliver them to their homes, as does Botan. "It's on my way, anyway," she says with a sigh. "I've had a nice romp, but I'll have to report back to Spirit World. Thank goodness I'm not taking the humans that far."

Urameshi jams his hands in his pockets. "I guess I'll go back to training. Don't really have any business outside Demon World right now." Botan touches his shoulder.

Through the plans, Yukina sits staring at her newly bandaged fingers. She listens for birds that have long gone and hears the crack of the guard's skull, wondering if she'll forever regret not checking his body. And the humans—their dead eyes, their suspicion, their chaffed wrists. Even if they forget about the demons' horns and her ice, will a human doctor know how to treat them?

A thought blinks like a light in the fog, and she bolts upright. "Genkai," she says. "We should take them to Genkai. She'll—she'll know what to…"

Her mouth hangs half-open. The others give her pitying looks. Urameshi turns away, and Botan leaves him to touch Yukina's shoulder instead. "Sw—Yukina, why don't we get some shut-eye? I'm beat." She fakes a yawn. Numbly Yukina lets her steer her out, but she can't stop wondering about those humans, about who in their world they can go to now.

* * *

Dreams break up Yukina's sleep. In one, the demon guard rises to taunt her, asking how an ice maiden could have killed him. In another, he grips the human girl in both hands and squeezes until feathers burst out, his head transforming into the elder Toguro. In a third, he doesn't rise at all.

Still half-asleep, she reaches for Botan, her fingers clawing empty sheets. She pulls them in, hissing at the pain. For a panicked second she thinks Botan left until she realizes Botan only tucked her in before returning to the others.

She gets up, doubting she'll rest much and fearing she'll miss her friends. In the spaces between wake and sleep she's thought about what to do. The only question is what she'll tell Mukuro.

The few clothes and toiletries she's unpacked return to the suitcase, where the rest of her belongings are still wrapped up. After a moment of consideration, she leaves the embroidered sheets and curtains. Perhaps Mukuro will use them, or another guest will come to her doors…or perhaps they'll be waiting there when Yukina returns.

Yukina finds Mukuro alone in a training chamber, kicking dummies. Dust plumes when they tear and fall, making Yukina squint from the doorway, where she's clutching the suitcase with her non-throbbing hand.

"If only I hadn't gotten rid of that bastard. This isn't the same," Mukuro mutters. Louder, she says, "It's been a while since I kept up with my training. Strangely enough, few are eager to spar with me." She flips her bangs. "If you're going to leave with them, you'll have to hurry."

"I will soon. Are you all right?"

Mukuro peers over her shoulder. "I'll be fine." Unmoving, Yukina watches her, and Mukuro bends to pick up the remnants of her dummies. "Really. Thanks for lending him to me."

"Thank you for doing the same. And…for everything." It's not the list she'd constructed in her mind, all the reasons and gifts to express her gratitude, but her eyes are beginning to sting from more than dust. "Perhaps we didn't get off on quite the right foot, but…"

"I never get off on the right foot with anyone. I think we've done rather well."

When Mukuro straightens, she's smiling. Yukina smiles back. She dares to think of Mukuro as almost an older sibling—she does remind Yukina of Shizuru, a little.

"I wish I could have met her, then," Mukuro murmurs, making Yukina jump—she didn't realize Mukuro was touching her mind. "Don't worry. I'm flattered, I'm sure."

Now that she's aware of it, Mukuro's consciousness feels like static electricity. She girds herself and leans into it, feeling the current buzz in surprise. For a moment she sees a fierce inferno burning inside a container of ice, and she is not sure who she is seeing, or through what lens.

When Yukina is again alone in her mind, Mukuro approaches, unwrapping her scarf. It's the one Yukina made her, and at first she thinks Mukuro will give it back—but instead she unclasps her necklace. Yukina swallows.

"I told you, I don't want…"

"I know. I thought those humans might need it. Of course, I expect you'll return it someday."

Yukina can't contain her shock, even as she realizes how rude she's being. The gesture's meanings hit her in waves until she's flooded with fondness for Mukuro and guilt for having ever doubted her.

"That's…thank you. That's very kind of you. But don't you need it right now?"

"Hiei's will do. I don't feel like letting him run off for a while."

Nodding, Yukina reaches to take the necklace. "I don't blame you," she says.

* * *

Hiei is outside, sitting under the shade of a tree that wasn't there before Kurama came. Its base curls against his back, the thick roots spreading to provide space, and branches with brightly colored leaves and berries curve over him. Not wanting to encroach upon his haven, Yukina kneels a short distance away. She thought his eyes were closed, but now she sees he's staring at the necklace in his palm—his necklace. Though her own around her neck unsettles her, the warmth emanating from his stone soothes her nerves.

"Did they all leave?" he asks.

"No, I said I wanted to see you first."

He looks up sharply, his pupils tiny slits. "You're…?" Pursing his lips, he drops his chin back down. "Then go. You've seen me."

By now Yukina knows better than to take it at face value. She rests her hands on her knees, folding her thumb under her bandaged fingers. His eye burns into them.

"You know, you're powerful," he says. "Not many could summon flames from another realm once, let alone several times without being swallowed up."

"I don't think I summoned enough to be swallowed by," she says, inwardly pleased. "But thank you."

"How much does it hurt?"

"I'll tell you if you let me check your wounds."

"I don't have any." She stares evenly at him. "Kurama checked them already." Though his spot is tailor-made, he shifts this way and that. "Fine. It's a waste of your time, though."

"Never," she says, scooting under the shade. He peels off his shirt, revealing a latticework of scars and bruises to which she forces herself not to react. Instead she tries to gauge their age. Some look recent while others are little more than raised skin.

She reaches for a new cut. He presses back against the trunk, raising his knee. "You only said you were checking them. It's my turn."

Suppressing a sigh, she yields. None of his newest injuries look terrible, and she doesn't want to lose his tentative trust. "All right." She holds out her hand. He pulls his shirt back on along with his necklace before taking it, unwrapping the bandages. Though it's nothing compared to his arm, the sight of her blistered skin makes her wince.

"Can you move them?"

"Not much." She hesitates. "Will I ever again?"

"Maybe." His face unreadable, he bandages them back up. She almost asks what he did to treat his own burns, then realizes the folly and clenches her other hand.

"I don't blame you for leaving," he says. "I failed your challenges, and then I let this happen."

"No! No, it isn't you! I'm worried about the humans. I'm just going to make sure they're okay, and then I'll be back, I promise."

His blank eyes don't reveal whether or not he believes her. She reaches to stroke a leaf from the lowest hanging branch, following the ridge between the smooth half-moons. "Plus…to be honest, deep down I can't believe that our friends are gone. I have to go visit them to truly get used to the idea."

At that, he nods. The leaf separates from the branch, making her flinch. She lowers her hand and pockets it.

"Genkai told me once that you weren't a child," he says. "That's when I figured you…knew. But I didn't want to believe it. I thought if I just stayed away, you'd be safe from my curse."

The root of Kurama's tree bends to accommodate Yukina as she crawls to curl beside Hiei. The trunk is solid behind her, his low breaths ragged now that she's close enough to hear.

"If you're cursed, it's only because they placed one upon you." She tries to cool her anger, not wanting to tense up while their shoulders are pressed together.

"I fought so hard to prove them right."

"So prove them wrong. Isn't that what a rebel does?"

"You're starting to sound like Yusuke." But a smile twitches at the edge of his lips.

She's wedged herself on his left so their burned sides can rest safely on the roots. His fingers drum against one, and hers try to mimic the motion, though they're still too stiff.

The drumming stops. "I guess you don't really need me to go on walks with you."

"I'm coming back," she says again. "And then you can accompany me on walks, if you want to."

Usually the heat from his body is palpable from a distance. Close enough that there's hardly space between their elbows, he's gone cold.

"Mukuro promised me she'd take care of you," Yukina says. "Take care of her, too, okay?"

"You don't need to tell me." He touches his necklace. "You have to go."

She nods, biting her lip. Exhaling, he slips his arm in between the trunk and her shoulders. She needs no more invitation to bury her face against him. His hand doesn't quite curl to grip her, and her arm stretches across his stomach, fingers just as stiff.

"I'm not that delicate, you know," she says. "I won't shatter if you hold tight."

"I might," he says. Her grip loosens just as his tightens.

* * *

During muggy, toxic days in Demon World, Yukina remembered Human World's air as clean and pure. That memory is the only thing the pollution around the city clears. With her bandaged fingers she shades her eyes from the sunlight, the sky strikingly bright despite the distant smog. There's grass under her feet—thick, lush grass—and she'd have taken off her shoes to squish her toes around it were they not on a mission.

With their dubious appearance, they have to wait until dark to enter the city proper and return the victims near their homes. Yukina wishes she could see their families find and welcome them, but they can't afford to stick around for the questions. Botan promises that she'll watch from a distance to make sure they're all settled in where they're supposed to be.

One by one they leave them where they'll be found, making sure they're dressed warmly enough to last the night, and each time Yukina slips an address into their pocket with a note telling them to come if they need to talk about something they can tell nobody else.

Botan hugs Yukina tightly before flying off. With a ferry girl's duties, she can't possibly ask anything of Botan—but she mentions to her that she'll be in human world for a little while, in case Botan happens to be working nearby.

"We'll see each other again," Botan promises.

"I don't know if I want it to be sooner or later," Yukina says.

"Oh, that's the problem with this line of work. Why couldn't I have been a nice ice cream seller!"

When Botan is gone, Kurama remarks upon the grim sense of humor Yukina's developed. "Perhaps being in Human World will do you some good after all," he says with a twist of a smile. Like her he's going to stay for a while, stating that he'll have to pay some visits, though she knows he doesn't mean to her.

* * *

The address on the notes was a gamble, but it pays off. Genkai's temple stands firm, dusty as it is. Yukina wipes away the dust, performs long-neglected rituals, and makes preparations to get working power and water. She tries to get some of the game machines going, though she never figures them out.

For how empty the building is, the land around it teams with demons. They live in tree trunks, in spaces between roots, in coves by the sea. Their trills almost sound like the chirping of insects, if one expects a cicada thrown in the mix. None of them are as strong as the fighters at Mukuro's fortress, or as big. She greets them as she circles the land, earning curious stares in return.

Back inside, she sets down her suitcase, kneeling in front of it for a long time before easing it open. The first thing she picks up is round and smooth. Carefully she unwraps the puffy plastic wrap protecting it, gasping when it falls away to reveal the snow globe Keiko bought her. Before she can open anything else, tears run hot down her cheeks, bouncing off of the ground. She ignores the stones for now and shakes the snow globe, watching the glitter swirl around the figurines. Two children are making a snowman together, one that hasn't melted after all these years.

She sets the snow globe aside, trying to forget what she's only now remembered: she hated it. A world of ice, trapped inside…it had hit too close to home, though of course Keiko couldn't have known that, and Yukina responded with the utmost gratitude, keeping it on her windowsill.

In her haze after the funeral, she packed an odd assortment of things. She discovers a set of three toothbrushes—blue, yellow, and minty green—that set off a fresh wave of tears as she pictures the three of them crowded around the mirror.

When it's all unwrapped, she leaves it on the floor, unable to bear finding a place for it just yet. She curls up on the ground, promising herself she'll find a pallet later, and sleeps deeply, if only because her body cannot last longer without it.

* * *

Over the next several days, Yukina spends much of her time at her friends' graves. The only thing keeping her from leaving them is the possibility of the humans turning up at Genkai's temple. She wants to have proper electricity and water for tea waiting for them, at least.

New flowers sprout each time she visits, none of them local or seasonal. They wither away within the day, to be replaced before she arrives. She never sees Kurama there; she assumes he comes in the dead of night, spending most of the time with his mother.

For all she goes through the motions of respect for the dead, Yukina can't feel the connection she hoped for. The mementos, with their captured scents, meant more; Botan told her they've long passed on, giving her no hope of encountering them here. Still she visits, bringing candles and gifts (a cat toy for Kazuma, her own flowers for Shizuru), and warming the ground each time before leaving.

She goes a week without saying a word out loud except to people from whom she buys supplies or speaks with about utilities. When the first human arrives at Genkai's door, Yukina scarcely recognizes her own voice.

It's a pair of humans, really: the mother with the baby. The way she stares at Yukina confirms that she remembers her, however vaguely. Yukina pats Natsume's ribbon, which miraculously hasn't been crushed or burnt and which she still means to return, and welcomes her inside. The mother kneels in front of the table, rocking her baby gently.

"I can't be apart from her for even an instant," she confides. "Maybe that's not unusual at her age, but I don't have much to compare it to."

Yukina doesn't either. Though she's past the age where ice maidens undergo parthenogenesis, the differences in her heritage prevented it.

The mother looks around several times as if expecting someone to appear in the space between the tilts of her head. "Did…I imagine all of that? You were there? And you…those people…"

Yukina nods, waiting for the mother to say more. "I was there," she confirms when the woman only continues her furtive looks. The mother breathes in.

"I don't dare tell anyone what I saw. They wonder if I'm fit to raise her as it is."

"I won't wonder," Yukina promises. "And I won't tell."

The baby gurgles, and the mother breathes out. "Thank you. If she were taken from me…"

Yukina's chest tightens. Watching the mother, she'd finally begun to forgive the ice maidens for trying to stay safe in a violent world, but the flame in this realm calls to her.

For now she ignores it. There's no need for it here, in this haven she's trying to maintain. Still, the book Mukuro gave her is the one thing she hasn't unpacked, and she doesn't think she will soon.

* * *

A few days later, the mother returns. Yukina has at least put out some flowers that were left for her along with a packet of tealeaves in the graveyard. She steeps the tea while the mother hums the baby to sleep.

"I have to watch what I eat now that I'm eating for her, but it's so hard to stomach anything at all."

"The tea will settle it, and it will be good for both of you," Yukina says.

The mother drinks quietly, then feeds the baby when she wakes. Yukina doesn't break the silence, getting up only to water the flowers.

"I still haven't told you our names, have I?" the mother asks.

"No. Would you like to?"

"To be honest, I'm scared to, after what you know. But I've been horribly rude, and infringing upon your hospitality like this when I've nothing to repay you…"

Yukina's hand on the mother's makes her flinch. Yukina whispers an apology. "Please, don't feel you're infringing. I don't mind at all. If there's some peace I can offer you here, then you are welcome. I feel that's what the psychic who used to run this place would want."

She doesn't say that this is the only company she gets. The mother opens and closes her mouth several times before bowing her head with tearful thanks.

The baby whimpers. "Oh, don't start crying, don't start crying—I'll stop," the mother says. Yukina digs into her pocket for her necklace, which she hasn't had the heart to wear, and dangles it over the baby, who closes tiny fingers around it.

"It's just jewelry," Yukina says to the suspicious mother. But the baby returns to sleep without a sound.

* * *

The next human to arrive is a stranger. He dips his head around the entryway before tilting it down to stare at Yukina. "Um, excuse me," he says. "I heard a renowned psychic lived here, but…"

She wonders if the woman said something after all, or if rumors just got mixed up after she ordered the utilities to be turned on. "I can see why you heard that," Yukina says. "Will you come in? I'll put on a kettle."

"I dunno. I don't mean to be rude, but I've seen…some strange things lately. I'm not sure if I can tell just anyone about them, and I don't want to waste your time."

"It won't be a waste," Yukina says firmly. "And this is the home of a psychic, and I'd like to hear what you've seen, if you don't mind. I promise it's confidential."

The man's hand stays on his neck, but he follows her in. When he leaves, his arms hang loosely at his sides.

* * *

"Make the humans leave."

The voice startles Yukina. She's never seen a demon enter the temple, but one sits on the counter upon which she had been going to prepare a midnight snack. The demon is a third of Yukina's size, front claws hooked around the edge of the counter. Thoughtlessly opening the fridge with her burnt hand, she cringes and scans the shelves for something they might like to eat.

"There shouldn't be any humans here this late," she says.

"Not right now. But they keep coming. Before you came, they knew this land was ours." Yukina heard as much from the man who visited: rumors spread about the strange monsters sighted around the temple, never widely substantiated but sowing enough fear for people to stay away unless dared.

"You're welcome to live here, but it doesn't belong to you. The human who owned this temple left it to my friends and I. She wanted it to be a middle ground for demons and humans." She emerges from the fridge empty handed, but the demon sticks out a tongue to catch a bug, and Yukina closes the door.

"If humans come, it won't be safe."

"I promise it will. Believe me, they're as scared of you as you are of them."

The demon balks at the suggestion that they're scared of humans. Yukina ignores them. "Tell everyone they're welcome in the temple anytime," she says over her shoulder as she leaves.

* * *

The girl Yukina endangered and saved stands sullenly in the doorway, not taking off her sneakers, while Yukina tries to welcome her in. Seeing she's getting nowhere, she suggests a walk, and the girl follows her around the edge of the forest.

"This tree's moss looks the same as it did decades ago," Yukina says without thinking, wanting to fill the silence with anything that won't make the girl feel pressured.

"I knew it. You're not human." For the second time Yukina flinches at the statement, but the girl only seems smug. "I _told_ them. I told the kids at school what you did, and they all thought I was nuts."

Yukina's attempt at explaining why the girl shouldn't tell anyone else what she saw is interrupted by the girl pointing at her bandages. "Is that from the fire? Are you sure I can't do that?"

The conversation goes in circles. When they finish a round about the temple, Yukina again tries to invite the girl inside. She hasn't managed an introduction from this one, either, and she knows better than to ask for one. She only manages to convince her to enter when the girl learns about the video games. Though warned that Yukina doesn't know how to operate them, the girl manages it, talking about how jealous everyone will be that she got to play such retro games. She doesn't notice the demon watching the screen from the corner, and Yukina says nothing.

After a series of loud complaints, the girl stands and announces that she'll be back to beat them later. Her chin juts up, as if daring Yukina to say she's not welcome. Despite her boldness, her eyes remain glassy. Instinctively Yukina feels that this is someone who's not used to seeing herself reflected in others.

"Come as often as you like," Yukina says. "You're always welcome here."

The girl runs off without saying goodbye, and Yukina sets about cleaning the place up for the next guest.

By the end of the day, a snow globe sits on her windowsill, and three toothbrushes are lined up by the sink, waiting for someone to use them.


End file.
